INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Millennium Development Goals

Piara S Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on progress towards meeting the millennium development goals in Asia.

Gareth Thomas: Good progress is being made overall in Asia to reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty, and the region is on track to meet this target by 2015. Progress on other Millennium Development Goals is uneven. Areas of particular concern are the high rates of maternal mortality, the spread of HIV and AIDS, the quality of and access to education, especially for girls, and the need to improve access to sanitation.

Tuberculosis

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures he plans to take to ensure that measures to combat tuberculosis in developing countries are made a priority at the G8 St. Petersburg summit in July.

Gareth Thomas: At the launch of the Global Plan to stop tuberculosis for 2006-15 in Davos, the Chancellor called for the G8 formally to designate tuberculosis a top priority at St. Petersburg in July, and urged G8 member countries to pledge to the Global Plan.
	As always the UK will work through all available channels in the lead up to the G8 summit. We will encourage other G8 partners to ensure that tuberculosis control is addressed as part of the comprehensive package of measures agreed at Gleneagles, so that developing countries can make faster progress towards the Millennium Development Goal targets.

International Aid

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is discussing with his Commonwealth counterparts on using international aid to promote good governance.

Hilary Benn: At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta in November 2005 the Heads of Government reaffirmed their commitment to good governance. At the heart of the organisation is the Harare Commonwealth Declaration which sets out the shared commitment to good governance, human rights and democracy. To deliver these objectives the Commonwealth administers four Peace and Democracy Programmes: Good Offices for Peace, Democracy and Consensus Building, Rule of Law and Human Rights. Discussion has focused on learning from the experiences of member states on what works.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance will be given to Yemen in 2006-07 to help it combat the spread of tuberculosis.

Gareth Thomas: The current prevalence of TB in Yemen is 1.5 per 1,00 people. The Government of Yemen runs a National Tuberculosis Programme aiming to eliminate TB in the country.
	The UK has committed £59 million until 2008 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Since January 2002 the fund has approved US$735 million for TB control, and $6.1 million is being spent in Yemen between 2005 and 2010.
	DFID has committed £ million, between 2005 and 2008, to the global Stop TB Partnership which has provided support to good quality TB drug access in Yemen. The UK also provides core funding to the World Health Organisation (£2.5 million in 2005–06) which among other things, works to fight TB in Yemen.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's work in the Republic of Yemen.

Gareth Thomas: Yemen is the only low-income country in the middle east, with social indicators reflecting very low levels of human development—female primary school enrolment and completion rates and adult illiteracy rates are among the worst in the world, as are infant and maternal mortality rates. With a population of 20 million the poverty levels are high—10.7 percent. of population below US$1 a day and 45 percent. below US$2 a day.
	DFID's support to Yemen goes back to 1997 with a £2 million per year programme focusing on strengthening economic and financial management. DFID extended the programme in 2003 also to include work on education and health, and opened an office in Yemen in 2004. DFID has increased its programme in Yemen from £2.5 million in 2001-02 to £12.5 million in 2005-06.
	The Government of Yemen's 3rd five year development plan for poverty reduction (DPPR) is due to be finalised in the next few months. DFID will support the implementation of this and encourage a more effective, harmonised donor response through a joint donor framework for action. This will help donors achieve focus and prioritisation in their work.
	This approach has given DFID the time to focus our engagement in strategic areas that we believe will bring about positive change; for example, supporting improvements in public financial management and improving aid harmonisation.
	The current DFID programme includes support for basic education (with the aim of expanding access to quality basic education, focussing on the inclusion of girls), maternal and neonatal health (improving health services and health sector planning and policy making), community development through a social fund, support to elections reform, improved donor harmonisation and alignment, public financial management, and the development of the new development plan for poverty reduction. DFID is also exploring options for working with the Yemen Government on improving access to justice for the poorest.
	The Yemen Government have recently announced a package of reforms to improve governance, and DFID are supporting the development and implementation of these through all of our work, through our dialogue with Government, and through our funding.
	DFID is drafting its country assistance plan for Yemen detailing our development strategy in the country over the next three years which will be published in September 2006.

Clean Water

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the provision of clean water within development policy.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is committed to helping achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe water by 2015. Our programmes are focussed on sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, where achieving the target will be most difficult.
	Our strategy was set out in the 2004 DFID Water Action Plan, and updated in my World Water Day speech in March 2005. We publish regular updates of progress; these can be found on our website at: www.dfid.gov.uk. The last was in August 2005 and the next is due at the end of March 2006.

Pakistan

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the reconstruction work in Pakistan following the earthquake.

Hilary Benn: The Government are doing everything possible to help Pakistan recover from the earthquake.
	DFID is one of the largest bilateral donors for reconstruction, and we committed £70 million for reconstruction at the Donors' Conference last November. We are one of the group of seven" large donors working collaboratively with the Government of Pakistan to help meet the challenge of recovering from the earthquake.

Middle East

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what alternative channels of funding to the Palestinians are being considered should Hamas refuse to renounce violence and recognise Israel.

Hilary Benn: The Government fully supports the statements by the Quartet and the European Union on 30 January. We support the Quartet in urging measures to facilitate the work of the current caretaker Government to stabilise public finances. Future assistance to any new Palestinian Government will be reviewed against that Government's commitment to the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the roadmap. Subject to that review it is too early to say what channels of funding to the Palestinians might be appropriate.

Africa

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to reduce corruption in sub-Saharan Africa.

Hilary Benn: Corruption is both a symptom and a cause of poor governance. DFID supports a wide range of governance reforms to prevent, detect and take action against corruption. For example, DFID is helping countries to reform their judicial system in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. DFID also supports public financial management reforms in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, DFID also provides technical and financial support to dedicated anti-corruption commissions in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Nigeria and Zambia. DFID also helps civil society hold African governments to account for the proper use of public resources. For example, DFID supports the international NGO Transparency International and its country chapters.
	In addition, African countries are working together to tackle corruption regionally as well as in their countries. For example, DFID is helping the East and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) to build capacity in the region to prevent and detect money-laundering.
	Both developed and developing countries must play their part to reduce corruption in Africa. In 2005 at Gleneagles, G8 countries committed to a set of actions at home to help stop corruption in Africa. DFID is working with other Government Departments to meet these commitments in the UK. For example, secondary legislation is now in place to enable the UK to ratify the UN convention against corruption, the first global anti-corruption standard. We expect to ratify imminently.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much financial support the British Government have given to (a) the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, (b) the Federation of Trade Unions—Burma, (c) the Democratic Voice of Burma, (d) the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners and (e) the National Council for the Union of Burma in each of the past three years.

Gareth Thomas: The British Government have not provided financial support to any of these five organisations during the past three years.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of his Department's annual budget for Burma has been spent on consultants in each of the past three years; how much each consultant has received; and what projects each undertook.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's annual budget for Burma was:
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2002-03 7,020,000 
			 2003-04 3,720,000 
			 2004-05 6,007,000 
		
	
	Between 2002 and 2004, DFID issued three contracts to the Institute for Health Sector Development to co-ordinate an HIV/AIDS national response. Expenditure was as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
		
		
			 a. 2002-03 71,943 
			 b. 2003-04 110,763 
			 c. 2004-05 Nil

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment the Government has made of whether the European Commission is abiding by the EU common position on Burma regarding humanitarian assistance.

Gareth Thomas: The Government have made no formal assessment. DFID officials maintain a regular dialogue with the European Commission in their drawing up of programmes for assistance to Burma. The Commission is fully aware of the need for these to be consistent with the Common Position.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discretionary aid budget is available to the British ambassador to Burma.

Gareth Thomas: The British ambassador to Burma has the management of a discretionary aid budget covered by the small grants scheme (SGS). The 2005-06 financial year budget is £110,000 and will be used to fund civil society organisations working on sectors such as health, education, income generation and water.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Government have spent on projects (a) promoting democracy and (b) supporting internally displaced people in Burma in the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: Support to increase prospects for a successful transition to a democratic society is one of the four objectives of DFID's country strategy for Burma and is core to all our work. While DFID does not fund projects which explicitly promote democracy, in all our programmes we constantly seek opportunities to strengthen local civil society, support poor people's participation in local decision making, build local accountability and transparency, address conflict and encourage discussion and debate, in order to increase the prospects for change.
	DFID provides direct assistance to displaced people in Burma through support to ICRC's work with conflict affected populations. Since 2000 DFID has provided total funding of £2.3 million to ICRC (this also includes support for ICRC's prison visits). However, several other DFID funded projects, including through local NGOs, also include displaced populations among their recipients.

Burma

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the UK spent on supporting internally displaced people in Burma in 2004-05.

Gareth Thomas: It is not possible to specify how much DFID support to Burma was spent on internally displaced people during 2004-05. In the financial year 2004-05 DFID provided £0.5 million to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), of which approximately 80 per cent. is attributable to work with conflict-affected populations. In addition, several other projects funded by DFID which provide assistance through local-level NGOs (for example, on health care) include an indeterminate percentage of displaced people among their recipients.

Angola

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether British non-governmental organisations are working in the province of Cabinda; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: To our knowledge there are no British non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the province of Cabinda.
	DFID's programme in Angola does however work quite closely with a wide range of NGOs across the different elements of our programme. For example, in our humanitarian activities we are supporting Medecins Sans Frontieres to improve primary and secondary healthcare services in Bie and Uige provinces (£547,850). To promote peace and democracy we have provided £765,812 to the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) to educate citizens on their role in the electoral process. We fund the Luanda Urban Poverty Programme (LUPP), a coalition of local and international NGOs which works to reduce urban poverty (£8.9 million). On HIV and AIDS, we support programmes to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS, offer voluntary counselling and testing, and market condoms through the BBC World Service Trust, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Population Services International and GOAL (over £2.5 million). To ensure continued peace and stability in Angola we also support a number of peacebuilding projects through Christian Aid, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and the Centre for Common Ground, totalling over £2 million.
	Mine action is still required in Angola and we currently support projects in partnership with Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the HALO Trust. We are providing MAG with £1 million over the period 2005–07 for road and bridge demining in Mexico province and HALO Trust with £400,000 in 2005–06 for road clearance in Cuando Cubango province. Angola will remain a focus country for DFID mine action funding for the foreseeable future. We are working to strengthen Angolan Disabled People's Organisations through World Vision (£274,705).
	NGOs have a vital role to play in the lead up to the elections planned for September 2006 and afterwards, both in terms of democratic development and in supporting the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Angola

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether UK (a) multilateral and (b) bilateral aid is spent in the province of Cabinda; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: UNICEF and the World Health Organisation both work in Cabinda. DFID supports this through our core contributions. As core resources are unearmarked it is not possible to assess the extent to which this expenditure can be attributed to DFID. No other multilateral, including the European Commission and the World Bank have programmes in Cabinda.
	There is bilateral expenditure in Cabinda, through two channels. DFID provides additional bilateral support to UNICEF, which works in all 18 of Angola's provinces including Cabinda (over £4 million in the past three years). In 2005 UNICEF spent a total of $20 million in Angola, just over US$1 million was in Cabinda province, supporting education, health, and water and sanitation programmes. In addition DFID, together with the FCO and the MOD, is supporting peace building in Cabinda using funds from the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (£40,000 this year). Young people representing civil society organisations in Cabinda are being given the opportunity to do work placements with human rights, democratisation or peace building organisations in South Africa. The intention is that the expertise obtained in these important areas will be reinvested in peace building efforts in Cabinda.

Climate Change

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that his policies contribute to international efforts to tackle climate change.

Gareth Thomas: DFID takes the issue of climate change very seriously, not least because developing countries will be worst affected by it. We are helping developing countries collect data on the range and type of climate-related changes that are likely to take place in coming years. We are helping developing country planners to interpret that data, so that they can make informed decisions about how best to respond.
	We are also working with others, in particular the World Bank and other multilateral development banks, to increase investment in lower carbon energy, so that we can make progress towards reducing the greenhouse gas emissions.

Departmental Projects

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the environmental effects of projects supported through his Department.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) recognises that environmental assessment is critical to ensuring environmental sustainability in international development policy, planning and operations.
	All DFID's development initiatives with a spend of more than £1 million are subject to environmental screening, which is also applied to projects of less than £1 million where there is a likelihood of significant environmental impacts. Where appropriate, screening is followed by a more comprehensive appraisal and assessment for policies, plans and programmes. The procedures, and guidance on the screening process, are detailed in DFID's Environment Guide (2003), which is available on the Department's public website www.dfid.gov.uk

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people were employed by his Department in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

Gareth Thomas: Staff numbers are collated on a quarterly basis, and the following data relating to UK based civil servants are taken from our official returns to the Cabinet Office during the last 12 months.
	
		UK-based civil servants
		
			 Staff-in-post East Kilbride London Overseas 
		
		
			 31 March 2005 560 910 460 
			 30 June 2005 550 920 440 
			 30 September 2005 550 870 450 
			 31 December 2005 560 860 450 
		
	
	The following data relates to staff appointed in our offices overseas on local terms and conditions of service. We are not required to publish these figures in civil service statistics.
	
		SAIC
		
			 Staff-in-post Overseas 
		
		
			 31 March 2005 990 
			 30 June 2005 960 
			 30 September 2005 910 
			 31 December 2005 920 
		
	
	While the number of unfilled posts can fluctuate over the year, we normally run with a vacancy rate of approximately 5 per cent. at any time.

Departmental Staff

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether any (a) employee of his Department, (b) person engaged by his Department as a consultant and (c) paid advisor to his Department is a Member of the House of Lords; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: No employee of or paid adviser to the Department for International Development is a Member of the House of Lords. DFID has no current high value consultancy contracts (over £100,000) with any Member of the House of Lords. Data on low value consultancy contracts let by DFID Departments and overseas offices under delegated budgets is not held centrally. Our inquiries of delegated budget holders has identified only one such contract, in which the DFID Office in Malawi engaged a Member of the House of Lords as a consultant in 2006 to advise on penal reform.

Departmental Staff

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff of his Department are employed by the Department in Scotland; and at which locations.

Gareth Thomas: The latest published return to the Office for National Statistics, for the quarter ending 31 December 2005, shows 558 staff based in DFID's Headquarters in East Kilbride.

Development (Remittances from Abroad)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the role of remittances from abroad in assisting development and poverty reduction; what studies he has commissioned on the impact of such remittances; and how such research has influenced aid strategies.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is active in assessing the role of remittances in development and poverty reduction, and uses the resulting findings to inform its aid programming.
	In general, studies indicate that remittances reduce poverty in developing countries. For example:
	Recent research from Guatemala and the Philippines show that remittances reduce the level, depth and severity of poverty. Households receiving remittances were found to spend around 50 percent. more than households with no remittances.
	In Bangladesh, remittances from internal migration can represent the majority of household income. Households receiving remittances have higher nutritional and health status, higher levels of educational investment, and pools of money available for emergencies.
	At the level of the economy, research suggests that remittances provide valuable foreign exchange for developing countries, and strengthen the balance of payments situation. Unlike other financial flows, remittances are counter cyclical, thus alleviating macroeconomic shocks. Remittances can also provide investment capital for economic activity, contributing to economic growth. Where remittance flows are saved rather than spent, they provide a higher deposit base for the banking system, which is necessary for economic growth.
	DFID has funded a number of studies and also analyses relevant research by other organisations such as the World Bank. DFID funded a study in 2003 on remittances to developing countries in general which found a positive poverty reduction role for remittances. This finding was supported by DFID studies in 2004 and 2005 in Nigeria, Ghana and Bangladesh. DFID funded a household survey in the UK amongst the Bangladeshi community last year, which explored the impact on recipients of remittances to Bangladesh. DFID has recently commissioned a wider household survey to better understand the volume and value of remittance flows from key ethnic minority communities within the UK, and their impact on respective recipient countries.
	DFID also funded a study to determine the contribution of UK based diasporas to development and poverty reduction. The study noted wider benefits from remittances and other forms of assistance from diasporas and migrant communities. These benefits were in the form of relief from war and disaster and in post war reconstruction (e.g. Somalia, Sri Lanka), and in education and health. .
	DFID has used this research to design aid strategies in reducing barriers to remittance flows and further enhance their developmental impact. In particular, DFID has initiated remittance country partnerships programmes with Bangladesh, Nigeria and Ghana. These partnerships include work to extend access to remittances to poorer and more rural people, encourage greater competition and lower remittance prices, and improve data. This will be achieved by working with the private sector to extend access and outreach, and working with central banks and government, to address regulatory, data, competition and consumer issues.
	In terms of work in the UK, DFID has recently set up a taskforce comprising of banks and money transfer companies, in order to lower remittance prices and improve the services they provide to low income migrants. The taskforce will implement recommendations from a public/private sector working group report that DFID launched late last year.
	DFID has also initiated a website (www.sendmoneyhome.org) for those wishing to send remittances to developing countries from the UK. This provides easily available comparative information on remittance prices and providers. The aim is to improve choice and stimulate competition, leading to lower prices and a better service for low income migrants.

Drought/Food Security

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department (a) to reduce the risks associated with drought and (b) to improve food security within the developing world.

Gareth Thomas: We will publish our Disaster Risk Reduction policy in March. We are committed to give greater priority to risk reduction measures. This can include, for example, supporting the development of drought resistant crops, improving water supply and reducing dependency on rain-fed agriculture.
	In addition to providing support for food relief in life threatening situations, we are tackling chronic hunger by supporting the development of national safety nets that better deliver timely, adequate and guaranteed transfers of cash and/or food to the poorest. These programmes protect livelihoods and safeguard against destitution by helping people to keep their key assets—like land and livestock—through periods of hardship and crisis. For example, we have now provided a total of £43 million to Ethiopia's safety net. This has helped take five million people out of year-on-year emergency assistance.
	We are also working with partners including the European Community and the United States to ensure that comprehensive food security strategies are addressed in the poverty reduction strategies of various chronically food insecure countries in Africa including Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia and Malawi.

Global Fund

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the (a) amount and (b) proportion of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which has been employed (i) to advertise vacancies which arise, (ii) to appoint staff to manage its affairs, (iii) to employ external consultants and external companies to assist with its work, (iv) to promote and publicise its work and engage in public relations work and (v) on projects in developing countries.

Gareth Thomas: According to the financial data provided by the Global Fund Secretariat, total expenditure in 2005 was US$1.586 billion. Of this US$1.524 billion (or 96.1 percent.) was for grants to projects in developing countries, and US$62 million (or 3.9 percent.) was for operating expenses.
	The total expenditure of US$1.586 billion comprised:
	(i) US$0.4 million (or 0.03 percent.) for advertising vacancies of staff posts;
	(ii)US$24.7 million (or 1.56 percent.) for staff costs;
	(iii)US$23.9 million (or 1.5 percent) for external consultants and external companies to assist with the fund's work, of which US$19.2 million (or 1.2 percent.) was for in-country oversight services provided by Local Fund Agents';
	(iv) US$1.6 million (or 0.1 percent.) for communication services and materials including printing, translation, PR, photography and video production; (costs of staff engaged in these activities and included in (ii) above were US$0.9 million);
	(v) US$1,524.0 million (or 96.1 percent.) for grants to projects in developing countries; and
	the remaining US$11.4 million (or 0.7 percent.) was employed for office rent, utilities, supplies, equipment, travel and meetings.
	The proportion of operating costs as a ratio of total expenditure fell in 2005 compared with 2004, from 4.9 per cent. to 3.9 per cent. The UK's line as a board member is that Secretariat costs should be kept to a level congruent with the Global Fund acting solely as a financing instrument.

Global Fund

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of whether the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has an adequate complement of core staff to carry out its duties to donor and recipient countries.

Gareth Thomas: Core staff are needed to ensure the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) fulfils its mandate: raising money, disbursing funds and reporting to the board and other stakeholders on how that money has been used. In addition staff are required to ensure the Global Fund works effectively with others in tackling these three diseases.
	Each year the Secretariat proposes appropriate numbers of staff to fulfil its duties. The Board's Finance and Audit Committee reviews this and makes a recommendation to the board. The UK's line as a board member is to ensure that staffing levels are fit for purpose.
	In 2005 the Secretariat comprised 199 staff members including 150 fixed-term posts (contracts up to two years) and 49 short-term positions (contracts up to 11 months). The use of short-term contracts gives flexibility to adjust the numbers and skills mix of staff efficiently. At the twelfth meeting of the Global Fund's Board in December 2005, the Secretariat proposed an increase in staff numbers from 199 to 252 in 2006. The Secretariat argued that the Secretariat has been asked to devote more time to collaboration with partners at country and global levels, and that staffing levels were insufficient. After discussing whether savings could be made from more efficient processes, the board approved the proposed 2006 operating expense budget.

Global Fund

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) generic and (b) brand-name drugs have been approved for use in schemes financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria does not currently collect this data.
	The Global Fund's procurement policy specifies that resources may be used to procure any medicines that appear in national or the World Health Organization standard treatment guidelines (STGs) or essential medicines lists (EMLs). Unlisted products may be procured only if the principal recipient of the grant states a specific rationale for doing so in its proposal to the Global Fund.

Uganda

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Uganda regarding the conservation of Lake Victoria.

Hilary Benn: I have not had any such discussions, but the most important conservation issue that currently affects Lake Victoria is the rapid fall in water levels. This is in part due to an extended period of drought in the region. In addition, the release of water from Lake Victoria for power generation has recently been in excess of the amounts set out in a formula agreed with the Government of Egypt. The fall in the level of the lake has already had consequences for the agricultural sector and transportation.
	The Government of Uganda have re-assessed the extraction of water from Lake Victoria for power generation. Although the country faces a serious energy shortfall, it has agreed with the Government of Egypt and with development partners in Kampala, including the UK, to revert to the agreed formula for the extraction of water immediately. However, lake levels will only begin to rise when the drought ends.
	DFID has invested £5.75 million in the Nile Basin Initiative, which is a multi country agreement and programme to manage sustainably the resources of the greater Nile Basin, including Lake Victoria. DFID's support for this initiative is specifically helping to establish arrangements for improved management of water resources in all Uganda's lakes. A separate DFID project has helped Uganda's Department of Fisheries improve the management of fisheries resources in Lake Victoria. DFID is helping the government develop an environmental and natural resources sector investment plan which includes the protection of wetlands around the shores of Lake Victoria and the regulation of the discharge of pollutants.

Mozambique

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's activities in Mozambique.

Hilary Benn: DFID is the largest bilateral donor in Mozambique. Our aid framework for 2005-06 is £55 million, two thirds of which is provided as Poverty Reduction Poverty Support used to fund Government of Mozambique priorities as set out in the PARPA (Mozambique's Poverty Reduction Strategy). In addition, DFID has a large sectoral programme in the areas of health, education, infrastructure and HIV and AIDS. We also fund key central reform processes, including public financial management and public sector reform, and have a number a programmes with civil society. More information about DFID's programme in Mozambique is available on DFID's website at http://www.dfid.gov.uk/countries/africa/mozambique.asp

Namibia

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's activities in Namibia.

Hilary Benn: The focus of DFID's bilateral programme in Namibia has been on developing livelihoods for the poor in the centre and north of the country. In the past five years DFID's Namibia programme in 2004-05 was £1.2 million.
	The UK also supports development programmes in Namibia through multilateral bodies, in particular through our contribution to the European Commission (EC) of which our share of total assistance to Namibia is 14 per cent.
	DFID also supports a wide range of HIV prevention and care initiatives in Namibia through the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). This programme operates in Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho. Namibia should also benefit from a current pipeline programme with UNICEF, which will focus on the care and support of orphans and vulnerable children. This £18 million/three year programme will operate in Angola, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
	There are several other regional programmes outlined in DFID's Regional Plan for Southern Africa that may benefit Namibia. The priority areas identified in the Plan are peace and security, resilient livelihoods and growth, jobs and equity. The Plan will be launched on 28 February 2006.

Pension Liabilities

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will estimate the net present value of accrued pension liabilities in respect of (a) present and (b) former employees of his Department and its predecessor.

Gareth Thomas: The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefit scheme and individual departments' pension liabilities are not available. The Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts for 2004-05 showed that the total pension liability at 31 March 2005 was £84.1 billion. The value of pension liabilities was assessed as follows:
	
		
			  £ billion 
		
		
			 Liabilities for current members still contributing to the scheme 37 
			 Deferred pensions and contingent pensions for dependants in respect of members no longer contributing 12.7 
			 Current pensions for members and contingent pensions for dependants 34.4 
		
	
	As a result of a change in the discount rate used for calculating pension liabilities with effect from 1 April 2005, the total pension liability at 1 April 2005 increased by £10.6 billion to £94.7 billion.

Relief Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what factors his Department takes into account when deciding how much relief aid is offered to disaster areas; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID responds to emergencies based on an analysis of humanitarian need. At the onset of a disaster, DFID seeks information from humanitarian agencies and contacts on the ground to establish the extent of humanitarian need. DFID may also send its own assessment personnel to affected areas. The decision to respond and the scale of DFID's response is weighed up against a number of considerations: the extent of unmet needs, the coping capacity of affected countries, the response of other donors and the value that a DFID response could add to the overall effort.

Renewable Energy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken by his Department to support renewable energy projects in developing countries.

Gareth Thomas: Improved access to affordable and reliable energy supplies and services is essential for developing countries to increase their economic growth and achieve the UN millennium development goals.
	We welcomed the decision in 2004 by the World Bank Group to increase its annual lending for renewable energy and energy efficiency by an average of 20 per cent. per year, over the five years to 2010. The World Bank is scaling up its financial support for renewable energy and energy efficiency and announced in December 2005 a rise to $299 million for the year to June 2005, compared to an average of $209 million per annum over the previous three years. These figures exclude large hydropower projects and exceed their commitment. We are working with the Bank to see if a higher level of such investments can be achieved.
	DFID has provided £10 million for energy research projects, mostly over the past eight years, of which about £3.6 million was spent on the development and promotion of renewable energy, especially for rural communities. This has included a wide range of technologies such as wind, small hydropower, solar and biomass.
	DFID is working with international networks such as the global village energy partnership (GVEP) and the EU energy initiative (EUEI) to promote access to affordable energy services, drawing on the full menu of technology options, including renewable energy.
	We have supported the creation of a new €220 million EU energy facility, which will invite calls for proposals later this year. This grant fund aims to improve access to reliable and affordable energy, especially in Africa, and is encouraging viable renewable energy proposals.

Solomon Islands

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's (a) work and (b) expenditure in the Solomon Islands.

Gareth Thomas: DFID no longer has direct bilateral programmes in the Pacific, but our high commissions administer a Small Grants Scheme. This has provided nearly £100,000 for projects in the Solomon Islands in the last two years. DFID continues to provide assistance to the Solomon Islands through the EC. The UK also contributes significant indirect funding to the region through the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and United Nations agencies.
	The 9th European development fund (EDF) covering the period 2003-09, has an allocation to the Solomon Islands of €21.15 million or £13.8 million; the UK share of this is some £1.75 million. The focus of the 9th EDF is sustainable rural development and community development, with a micro-projects programme and a capacity building and institutional strengthening programme as key elements. The EDF also provides resources under the STABEX mechanism, which provides compensation for adverse fluctuations in earnings from agricultural and mineral commodities. These have been allocated to education, transport, agriculture, forestry and rural development.

United Nations Population Fund

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations (a) Ministers and (b) officials have made about the decision of the Bush Administration not to fund the United Nations Population Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: There have been no representations directly by DFID Ministers or officials to the United States in response to the decision by the Bush Administration in July 2002 to withhold $34 million funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) based on claims that the fund supported coercive abortion in China.
	At the Executive Board in September that year several other donors including the UK announced support for UNFPA, and signalled an increase in their contribution to UNFPA. The UK is providing £80 million core support to UNFPA over its four year funding framework from 2004-05 to 2007-08. We reiterated our support for UNFPA at the Executive Boards in June 2005 and January 2006 when the UK said
	let us state unequivocally that in our view, UNFPA's activities in China, as in the rest of the world, are in strict conformity with the unanimously adopted Programme of Action of the International Committee on Population and Development (ICPD)".
	A State Department team that investigated UNFPA-supported projects in China submitted a report in May 2002, explaining they found no evidence that UNFPA had knowingly supported or participated in the management of a programme of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation in the People's Republic of China. UNFPA has also publicly stated that it has never, and will never, be involved in coercion in China or any part of the world. The Fund is a staunch supporter, and promoter, of the human rights-based approach to family planning.
	In the same year DFID supported a study tour for three UK MP's to visit China to study its population and reproductive health policies and UNFPA's work in China. The team was made up of my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Chris McCafferty), the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh) and the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb). Their report concluded that UNFPA was a force for good, and a copy was placed in the Library of the House.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice her Department has given to the Heritage Lottery Fund regarding sourcing timber from Burma.

Elliot Morley: The Department has published general guidance on procuring timber from legal and sustainable sources and this has been drawn to the attention of the Heritage Lottery Fund. This general guidance makes no specific mention of Burma.
	The Heritage Lottery Fund did receive an inquiry, from a trade journal, related to Burmese teak. The Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET), a helpline service set up by my Department, advised the Heritage Lottery Fund not to approve any timber that did not meet the Government's criteria for legality. CPET further advised that it was not then possible to say how a particular source of timber would match up against the Government's requirements until a suppler submitted specific evidence for assessment.

Carbon Emissions

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information the Government publish on carbon dioxide emissions from each type of fuel; and what emission factors are used to calculate these figures.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The most recent estimates of carbon dioxide emissions by type of fuel are published in Defra's statistics Digest in table 5: Estimated emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) by UNECE source category, type of fuel and end user: 1970-2003 (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatmos/download/xls/gatb05.xls). These data will shortly be updated to contain the emissions from the 2004 greenhouse gas inventory.
	Emissions data aggregated according to fuel type are also published annually under contract to Defra in the Common Reporting Format (CRF) tables of the UK's greenhouse gas inventory. Tablesl.A(a)s1 to Tablesl.A(a)s4 provide sectoral background data for energy from Fuel Combustion Activities—emissions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) fuel class are listed. These can be found at the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) website: http://www.naei.org.uk/report_link.php?report_id=317.
	Carbon emission factors used in the UK greenhouse gas inventory are also accessible through the NAEI website and are directly available via http://www.airquality.co.uk/archive/reports/cat07/0509161441_ energy_background_data_uk_2005_v1.1.xls.

Carbon Emissions

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much (a) shipping fuel and (b) aviation fuel included in table 1.1 of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics is excluded from the calculation of UK carbon dioxide emissions.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The following table shows the estimate of fuel consumption in million tonnes, from both domestic and international shipping and aviation for 2004, the latest year for which carbon dioxide calculations for the UK greenhouse gas inventory are available. Under internationally agreed guidance, emissions from international shipping and international aviation are not included in the greenhouse gas inventory; this amounts to 1.83 million tonnes of fuel from international shipping and 10.52 million tonnes of fuel from international aviation being excluded.
	
		Fuel consumption (million tonnes)
		
			  Activity 
			  Shipping Aviation 
		
		
			 International 1.83 10.52 
			 UK domestic 1.36 1.40 
			 Total 3.20 11.91 
		
	
	Note that the estimates of international and UK domestic fuels do not add to the total estimate of fuels due to rounding.
	The data are derived from table 3.4 of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics which presents details on the supply and demand of petroleum products according to fuel type, rather than from the more aggregate table 1.1.

Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the carbon emissions resulting from (a) the generation of heating for buildings and (b) the powering of air conditioning in buildings in a town of average size.

Elliot Morley: An estimate of annual carbon emissions for the town of Swindon in 2003 due to the generation of heating for buildings is 81 thousand tonnes of carbon (ktC/yr). For powering of air conditioning in buildings the corresponding estimate is 3.6 ktC/yr.
	These estimates are based on national models of energy use in the non-domestic building stock developed by the Building Research Establishment under contract to Defra.

Carbon Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the percentage contribution of (a) non dwelling buildings and (b) dwellings to the UK's total annual carbon emissions was in each year between 1997 and 2005.

Elliot Morley: The following table shows carbon emissions for non-domestic buildings and for housing as a percentage of total UK carbon emissions for the years 1997 to 2004, the latest year for which data are available.
	
		
			  Carbon emissions from non-domestic buildings as a percentage of total UK carbon emissions Carbon emissions from housing as a percentage of total UK carbon emissions 
		
		
			 1997 13.8 25.2 
			 1998 13.5 25.8 
			 1999 13.2 25.4 
			 2000 13.5 25.8 
			 2001 14.0 26.6 
			 2002 13.1 26.6 
			 2003 13.2 26.5 
			 2004 13.3 26.5 
		
	
	The figures are based on the Digest of UK Energy Statistics energy consumption data and estimates of energy use in building stock by the Building Research Establishment under contract to Defra.

Chinese Mitten Crabs

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's assessment is of the potential impact of the influx of Chinese mitten crabs in British waterways on the environment; and what plans her Department has to tackle the problem.

Jim Knight: The Chinese mitten crab has been recorded along the east coast of Britain, including the River Thames, the Thames estuary, and the Humber, Medway, Tyne, Wharfe and Ouse rivers.
	Where this species has become established it has displaced crayfish and other native crabs. It has damaged estuary banks by burrowing, and it can cause erosion of soft sediment banks. This could create future problems for our flood defences.
	English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Association of Marine Sciences (SAMS), the Marine Biological Association of the UK, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and the Natural History museum are working to investigate the ecological impacts of this species, and any appropriate control methods.
	The Natural History museum is taking forward additional work on UK distribution, case studies to inform a UK action plan, and disseminating information more widely.

Climate Change

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the quantification of the relationship between global dimming and the measureable effect of climate change; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: It is not possible at this stage to quantify with accuracy the relationship between global dimming and climate change because of the large uncertainty in the magnitude of the cooling effect of sulphate aerosols, the main contributor to global dimming.
	A recent study funded by the Department, which was published in the journal Nature last December, suggested that the cooling effect of anthropogenic aerosols could be larger than previously estimated. If confirmed, these results suggest the likelihood of a larger impact of increasing CO 2 emissions on the climate system, adding urgency to our need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
	Estimating the size of the cooling resulting from aerosols is an ongoing and crucial research activity. The Department continues to fund research in order to determine the size of the aerosols' cooling effect and what overall implications there are for forecasts of future global warming.

Climate Change

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors have affected the timescale for publication of the revised climate change strategy.

Elliot Morley: The timetable for publication of the revised UK Climate Change Programme has been extended to allow us to take full account of the outcome of a number of other pieces of ongoing work including the energy efficiency innovation review and gives us more time to take forward commitments made in the 2005 pre-Budget report.
	The revised timetable also fits more closely with the timetable for developing phase II of the EU emissions trading scheme enabling us to take into greater consideration the level of the cap for the second phase of the EU ETS which is occurring in parallel to the Climate Change Programme Review.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Minister of State for Climate Change will reply to the letter of 11 January from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, on behalf of Ladywood Furniture Project.

Elliot Morley: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend's letter. A response will be issued shortly.

Energy Efficiency

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost per kilowatt hour to energy suppliers relating to the Energy Efficiency Commitment scheme.

Elliot Morley: In addition to Defra's own current analysis of carbon savings and costs and benefits, we have recently commissioned an independent consultant to evaluate the Energy Efficiency Commitment 2002–05. Preliminary results show that the cost effectiveness from a supplier's perspective was about 0.7 pence per fuel-standardised lifetime-discounted kilowatt hour of saved energy including indirect costs, or 0.5 pence per fuel-standardised lifetime-discounted kilowatt hour excluding indirect costs. It is estimated that for every £1 spent by the energy suppliers, householders have benefited by over £9 from energy efficiency improvements in terms of reduced bills and increased comfort. More details will become available when both evaluations are published shortly.

English Nature

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the current staffing establishment is at English Nature in Peterborough; and what projected staffing numbers are over the next five years.

Jim Knight: There are currently 397 English Nature staff based in Peterborough (including 23 in the area team for Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire).
	From October 2006 (subject to the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill passing successfully through Parliament) English Nature, the environment activities of the Rural Development Service and the Countryside Agency's Landscape, Access and Recreation division will come together to form Natural England. It is anticipated that Natural England will have an office in Peterborough, the number of staff based there will be a matter for the board of Natural England.

Fuel Poverty

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government are on course to meet its fuel poverty commitments in 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Substantial progress has been made towards achieving our target of eradicating fuel poverty in vulnerable households in England, as far as reasonably practicable, by 2010. The number of vulnerable households in fuel poverty in England fell from four million in 1996 to one million in 2003, a decrease that was due to increasing household incomes, lower fuel prices and increased domestic energy efficiency.
	However, recent rises in energy prices will have had an adverse affect on progress. We are continuing to analyse the impact of these rises and the implications for the level of resource that will be necessary to meet our target. This process will continue over the period of the Energy Review, which is due to conclude later this year.
	The Government remains committed to achieving our targets. To underline this commitment, it was announced in the 2005 pre-Budget report that an additional £300 million would be made available to tackle fuel poverty across the UK over the 2005–08 period. In England, this means that total fuel poverty funding over the same period will exceed £800 million.

Ministerial Travel

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the occasions on which (a) she has and (b) each of her Ministers have visited (i) Brussels and (ii) Paris in the last two years; and what the (A) purpose and (B) means of transport to and from the United Kingdom was on each occasion.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 26 January 2006
	Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of Cabinet Ministers' visits overseas costing more than £500. The list provides details of the date, destination, purpose and costs of individual visits made by Cabinet Ministers.
	Information relating to the period 2003–04 and 2004–05 is available in the Library of the House. Information for the year 2005–06 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the financial year.
	DEFRA Ministers visited Brussels and Paris on the following occasions in 2004–05:
	
		Elliot Morley
		
			 Date Destination Propose of visit Transport 
		
		
			 2 March 2004 Brussels Environment Council RAF/Scheduled flight 
			 19–20 April 2004 Paris OECD Three Year Meeting of Environment Ministers Eurostar 
			 24–25 June 2004 Paris Environment Council Eurostar 
			 19 December 2004 Brussels Environment Council Eurostar 
			 27 –28 January 2005 Paris International Biodiversity Symposium Eurostar 
			 9 –11 March 2005 Paris/Brussels OECD High Seas Task Force and Environment Council Eurostar/Scheduled flight 
			 1–2 June 2005 Paris Roundtable on Sustainable Development at the OECD Eurostar 
			 15 September 2005 Brussels Visit to the European Parliament Eurostar/Scheduled flight 
			 6 October 2005 Brussels IPPR Climate Change Policy Seminar Eurostar/Scheduled flight 
			 12 October 2005 Brussels Bathing Water Conciliation Eurostar 
			 24 October 2005 Brussels Launch of the European Climate Change Programme Scheduled flight/Eurostar 
			 1–2 December 2005 Brussels Environment Council Eurostar/RAF 
		
	
	
		Alun Michael
		
			 Date Destination Propose of visit Transport 
		
		
			 17 May 2004 Brussels Competitiveness Council Eurostar 
			 2 March 2005 Brussels Met with MEPs about REACH Eurostar 
		
	
	
		Jim Knight
		
			 Date Destination Propose of visit Transport 
		
		
			 18 July 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Eurostar 
			 21–22 November 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Eurostar 
			 19–20 September 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Eurostar 
			 19–21 December 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Eurostar 
		
	
	
		Ben Bradshaw
		
			 Date Destination Propose of visit Transport 
		
		
			 22–23 March 2004 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Scheduled flight 
			 24 May 2004 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Scheduled flight/Eurostar 
			 22–23 November 2004 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council RAF/Eurostar 
			 20–22 December 2004 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Scheduled flight/Eurostar 
			 14–15 March 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Scheduled flight 
			 11 July 2005 Brussels Appearance at European Parliament Eurostar 
			 17–19 July 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Bilateral with  French fisheries minister RAF/Eurostar 
			 19–20 September 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Eurostar 
			 22–23 September 2005 Brussels Hosting dinner for European Parliament Eurostar 
			 21 November 2005 Paris High Seas Task Force Eurostar 
			 21–24 November 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Eurostar 
			 19–22 December 2005 Brussels Agriculture/Fisheries Council Eurostar 
		
	
	
		Lord Whitty
		
			 Date Destination Propose of visit Transport 
		
		
			 16 February 2004 Brussels European conference on air quality Scheduled flight 
			 18 October 2004 Brussels SIAL promoting British Food Scheduled flight 
		
	
	
		Lord Bach
		
			 Date Destination Propose of visit Transport 
		
		
			 3 October 2005 Brussels REACH Eurostar 
			 5 December 2005 Brussels REACH Eurostar

National Parks

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase the (a) number and (b) area of National Parks.

Jim Knight: The eight National Parks in England, together with the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads (the Broads) cover around 8 per cent. of the English landscape.
	Government expects to receive shortly the Inspector's report of the inquiry which has been held into the possibility of creating a new national park in the South Downs.

Oil Storage Regulations

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will amend the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001 to provide for the requirements contained therein to be made equivalent to the requirements contained in the draft Water Environment Oil Storage (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Elliot Morley: The Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001 had a four-year phased implementation period and came fully into effect on 1 September 2005. The drafting of similar regulations for Scotland has drawn upon the experience in England and sought to simplify and improve the requirements for oil storage.
	The aim of both sets of regulations is to reduce the number of oil pollution incidents. When information on the number of oil pollution incidents in England and their causes, following full implementation of the regulations, becomes available in 2007, the Environment Agency will undertake a review of the effectiveness of the 2001 regulations. That review will also take into account the approach adopted in drafting the Scottish regulations.

Population Increase Impacts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the projected increases in the population of England upon (a) water resources, (b) the countryside and (c) the environment.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 13 February 2006
	In England and Wales, water resources are the responsibility of the Environment Agency, which produced in 2001 Water Resources for the Future". This strategy document considers four different future scenarios for water use, based on the Environmental Futures' framework from the DTI's Foresight programme. Annual updates to the strategy keep it up-to-date. For example, the 2004 update draws from water company projections of water use that take account of population increase. Water Resources for the Future also considers demand from increased housing, which is to some extent associated with population increase. Increases in housing might also be expected to impact on rural areas and the environment. In 2004 Defra published the Entec report, Study into the Environmental Impacts of Increasing the Supply of Housing in the UK", which was partly driven by anticipated population increase. The ODPM also have an interest in housing supply increases, through their work on buildings and sustainable communities. Defra's Horizon Scanning and Futures team is currently preparing the groundwork for a study on the environmental impacts of increasing population. T his work will look at impacts on both urban and rural environments. Other elements of Defra's work include human population growth as a component: for example, population increase is factored into our air quality and emission projections.

Warm Front Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households have received funding from the Warm Front scheme since 2000.

Elliot Morley: Between the launch of the Warm Front scheme in June 2000 and the end of December 2005, the number of households assisted by the Warm Front scheme is 1.1 million.

Warm Front Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households which have received funding from the Warm Front scheme since 2000 were classed as fuel poor.

Elliot Morley: We do not collect specific data on the fuel poverty status of Warm Front recipients. The eligibility criteria for Warm Front are specifically designed to use receipt of one of a number of qualifying benefits as an indication that a particular householder may be vulnerable and so at risk of fuel poverty.
	Households not in receipt of a qualifying benefit at the time of application are offered a benefit entitlement check, which is designed to provide both the potential of increasing household income and to establish eligibility of households to benefit from measures under Warm Front.

Warm Front Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what average reductions in energy bills there have been in households which have received funding from Warm Front.

Elliot Morley: The average yearly saving for homes assisted by Warm Front is around £147.

Warm Front Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes assessed under Warm Front received a benefits entitlement assessment in each year since 2000; and how many followed up their check and claimed benefits.

Elliot Morley: Benefit entitlement checks (BECs) were introduced as part of the Warm Front scheme in October 2003.
	The Warm Front scheme offers these checks to potential customers to establish if they could be eligible for a Warm Front grant through receipt of a qualifying benefit they do not currently claim.
	Details of the number of checks offered and those applicants later returning to receive assistance from the scheme are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of benefit entitlement checks offered Number of benefit entitlement checks completed Number of checks resulting in identification of Warm Front qualifying benefits Number of applicants who applied to Warm Front after a successful benefit entitlement check 
		
		
			 2003–04 (from October 2003) 2,725 2,253 900 593 
			 2004–05 38,649 17,097 5,175 2,213 
			 2005–06(1) (to 31 January 2006) 47,881 17,072 5,788 2,540 
			 Total 89,255 36,422 11,863 5,346 
		
	
	(1) The figures for the current year include checks offered to those households where measures installed did not raise the energy efficiency rating of the property to a level above SAP 65. These checks have been offered since June 2005.
	It is recognised that, some applicants who complete a BEG may go on to claim a benefit but not apply to the scheme. Warm Front do not collect data on such circumstances .

Warm Front Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Warm Front scheme with reference to recent energy price rises; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Recent energy price rises pose several considerable challenges for our fuel poverty targets. The Government remains committed to achieving these targets.
	There are a range of schemes and policies in place that will help to tackle fuel poverty. To strengthen our ability in this regard, it was announced in the 2005 pre-Budget report that an additional £300 million would be made available to tackle fuel poverty across the UK over the 2005-08 period.
	The Warm Front scheme was revised last year to provide a wider range of assistance to those households at risk of fuel poverty and so raise the energy efficiency of those properties to a level at which there will be minimal risk of fuel poverty.

Water Efficiency

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Office of Water Services on linking a reduced-rate water supply and sewerage infrastructure charge to water efficiency measures.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The Water Saving Group was set up so that for the first time all of the main water industry stakeholders could work together in practical ways to promote the efficient use of water in households. It is the first Government-led high level group of its kind promoting collaborative work on water efficiency. Its action plan, agreed at the first meeting last October, includes a workstream which is looking at developing incentives for companies to improve the promotion of water efficiency.
	Ofwat is leading this work. One of the options that it is considering is investigating the feasibility of using differential infrastructure charges, to encourage developers to install water efficient appliances in new developments. It will report on all of the options it has developed at the next meeting of the Water Saving Group in May.

Water Shortages

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to tackle water shortages in the South East (a) during 2006 and (b) over the next 10 years.

Elliot Morley: Any projected shortage in water supply this year will be addressed though the relevant water company's drought plan. Drought plans contain mechanisms which trigger a range of actions to be initiated at different times as a drought develops. One of the actions may involve applying to my Department for drought orders in order to restrict non-essential uses of water.
	For longer term planning water companies maintain 25 year water resource plans which seek to reconcile supply with anticipated demand. These water resource plans are produced voluntarily every five years at present but will become a statutory requirement under the provisions of the Water Act 2003. My Department is currently consulting on the exercise of the new powers in respect of statutory water resource plans.

Water Shortages

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received regarding water shortages in the south-east; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 28 February 2006
	We have received a number of representations about the implications for water supply of the continuing drought in the south-east. The Environment Agency has produced a report, Drought prospects 2006", explaining the likely consequences of a continuing rainfall deficit and recommending action by water companies and the public. This report is available on request from the agency (telephone 0207 863 8710) or from its website www.environment-agency.gov.uk.

TREASURY

Child Trust Fund

Alistair Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims for the Child Trust Fund have been received from parents after the death of a newly born child.

Ivan Lewis: 1,004 requests for payment of the Child Trust Fund in child death cases have been received.

Deregulation

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the UK share of assessed gains to be made through deregulation as set out in the European Commission's annual report on competitiveness.

Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government support the view that lower regulatory burdens help deliver growth.
	The estimates in the Commission's 2004 Competitiveness Report relate to the euro zone. However, a recent study by the OECD shows that lower levels of regulation have contributed to accelerated growth in the UK by stimulating business investment and promoting innovation and technological catch up.
	OECD data also shows that the UK is the second least restrictive OECD country, only marginally behind Australia, in terms of economic and administrative regulation.
	The Government have launched one of the most radical reform programmes in the world to ensure administrative and other burdens arising from regulations are minimised. At the EU level, we are working hard with the EU Institutions and member states to deliver better regulation as a driver for economic reform.

Insurance Premium Tax

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what plans he has to prosecute companies being investigated for underpayment of insurance premium tax; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many companies are being investigated for underpayment of insurance premium tax; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The accuracy of insurance premium tax declarations are routinely assured as part of HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) risk based compliance strategy. In cases of underpayment and evasion HMRC have a number of measures available to them including the use of financial penalties and criminal prosecution.

Insurance Premium Tax

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 9 February 2006, Official Report, column 1395W, whether the insurance companies to which he refers are authorised by the Financial Services Authority; and how many insurance companies were involved.

Ivan Lewis: All UK insurance companies are authorised by the Financial Services Authority.
	The investigation of the allegations to which I referred in my reply did not uncover the underpayment of insurance premium tax by any insurance companies.

Legal Services Commission

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government's financial inclusion strategy of the decision by the Legal Services Commission to withdraw funding for specialist support and advice on debt; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: As part of the Government's strategy to tackle financial exclusion it has established a Financial Inclusion Fund of £120 million. It was announced in June 2005 that £45 million of this fund has been allocated to DTI to increase the provision of face-to-face debt advice and £6 million to the Legal Services Commission to pilot mechanisms of debt advice outreach for those who do not normally present themselves to debt advisers.

Tax Credits

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many recipients of tax credits in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) the North East and (e) the UK are involved in disputes relating to overpayment of benefit;
	(2)  how many people in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) the North East and (e) the UK receiving tax credits have been involved in disputes relating to overpayment of benefit .in each year since their inception; and how many of these disputes have been resolved.

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many completed TC846 forms have been received by HM Revenue and Customs requesting that it reconsider its decision to recover an overpayment of tax credits in each month since April 2003; and in what proportion of these requests the decision has been taken by HM Revenue and Customs to write off the overpayment.

Dawn Primarolo: Information about disputes relating to overpayments of tax credits is not available at constituency level.
	For information about disputed tax credits overpayments to November 2005, I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 January 2006, Official Report, columns 1496-97W and on 6 July 2005, Official Report, column 437W.
	There were around 23,500 disputed tax credit overpayments received in December 2005 and around 28,000 in January 2006. The number of overpayments successfully disputed, that is, where the overpayment was written off in full or in part, was around 1,500 in December 2005 and around 2,500 in January 2006. The figures for overpayments written off do not directly relate to those that were received in the same month.

Terrorist Groups (Financial Assets)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value was of (a) financial assets and (b) non-financial assets of (i) Northern Ireland terrorist, (ii) fundamentalist Islamic, (iii) Basque separatist and (iv) other organisations, broken down by cause frozen by the Treasury in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: Assets with a total value of nearly £80 million have been frozen in the UK, as associated with Al-Qa'ida, the Taliban or other terrorist causes, although a large proportion was returned to the Government of Afghanistan. The legislation does not permit us to publish the analysis at the level of detail requested.
	163 organisations have been designated under the Terrorism Order 2001 and the Al-Qa'ida and Taliban Order 2002. Of these, we judge six are Northern Ireland terrorist groups, 140 are Islamic and one is Basque. A consolidated list of individuals and entities subject to UK financial sanctions is available from the Bank of England website at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/financialsanctions/current/index.htm
	Freezing action also prevents the flow of funds to listed individuals and entities. Asset freezing is part of the Government's overall strategy to create a hostile environment for terrorism and safeguard financial systems. A value cannot easily be put on those wider effects.

VAT

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2808W, on VAT, how much has been paid in each parliamentary constituency under the grant schemes;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2808W, on VAT, which grant schemes are available to those (a) over 60 years and (b) on specified benefits;
	(3)  pursuant to his answer of 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2808W, on VAT, how many successful applications there have been for each of the grant schemes, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Dawn Primarolo: The reduced rate of VAT applies to the installation of security goods, such as locks, bolts, security chains and spy holes for people aged 60 or over, and for those in receipt of certain benefits, allowances or tax credits, when the work is funded by a public grant scheme which has as one of its objectives the funding of the installation of energy-saving materials in the homes of those persons.
	These grant schemes may be funded by the UK Government, the devolved administrations, the European Community, a local authority, or under any arrangement approved by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority or the director general of electricity supply for Northern Ireland. HM Revenue and Customs and the Treasury do not operate any such grant scheme or collect any data relating to applications or payments made under the various eligible grant schemes.

TRANSPORT

A3 (Hindhead)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his timetable is for making a decision on the proposals for a twin tunnel at Hindhead on the A3; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: We are currently considering the Inspector's report into the A3 at Hindhead following the public inquiry which was held last year. We are also considering the South East region's advice on the priority it attaches to this scheme within the indicative funding allocation for major transport schemes in the South East. An announcement on the way forward will be made later in the year.

British Transport Police

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to enable the merger of the British Transport Police operating within London with the Metropolitan Police Service; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: My right hon. Friend informed the House on 14 February 2006 that, pursuant to his statement to the House laid on 11 October 2005, the Department is undertaking a review of the British Transport Police and will announce its conclusions in due course.

Bus Travel Concessions

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much funding the Government are providing to Lancashire county council to provide free bus travel for (a) older and (b) disabled persons in West Lancashire;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the funding required to fund free off-peak travel for (a) older and (b) disabled persons on buses in West Lancashire.

Karen Buck: The Government are providing an extra £350 million for 2006-07 through the Formula Grant system. There is general agreement that there is enough additional money overall for the local authorities. The extra funding is unhypothecated; therefore the funding for concessionary fares it is not separately identified.

Departmental Estate

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) land and (b) property his Department owns in the North East Milton Keynes constituency.

Karen Buck: Details of land and property owned by the Department in the North East Milton Keynes constituency are set out as follows.
	The Highways Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport, own three areas of land near Milton Keynes. These consist of (1) land at Byron Lodge, Cranfield Road, Milton Keynes, (2) land adjacent to the M1 River Ouzel and (3) land at Brooklands adjacent to the M1 at Milton Keynes.

Departmental Staff

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any (a) employee of his Department, (b) person engaged by his Department as a consultant and (c) paid advisor to his Department is a Member of the House of Lords; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The Department has no record of any employees, consultants or paid advisors being Members of the House of Lords.

Disabled Pensioners (Transport)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding is available for disabled pensioners to subsidise transport cabs if public transport is not suitable.

Karen Buck: Local authorities may introduce schemes offering subsidised taxi travel for disabled people. The provision and funding of such schemes are entirely at the discretion of individual local authorities who set their own eligibility criteria.

GNER

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who in his Department is handling senior level contacts with GNER.

Derek Twigg: Management of the delivery of the GNER franchise is carried out by a dedicated Franchise Management team within the Department's Rail Service Delivery Directorate, which is part of the DfT rail group headed by the Director General.

Monorails

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to promote monorails in towns in England.

Derek Twigg: It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine their transport needs and develop the most appropriate solution in each case. Innovative proposals from local authorities could be considered for funding through the Department's major schemes programme.

Motorway Signage

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures are followed by the Highways Agency to ensure that electronic signs on motorways are providing current information.

Stephen Ladyman: Variable message signs (VMS) are set by operators working in the Highways Agency's national traffic control centre (NTCC) and regional control centres (RCCs) and currently by police control offices (PCOs) until all functions are transferred to the RCCs. This is scheduled to be completed by autumn 2006.
	NTCC continually monitors conditions on the motorway and trunk road network in England, receiving information from detection equipment on the network and from stakeholder partners and others. VMS messages are then set to provide information to
	drivers about real-time conditions.
	There are seven RCCs which monitor conditions on the motorway and trunk road network within their regions of England and allocate resources such as traffic officers to manage incidents. They set messages on VMS for safety reasons, to inform drivers and to assist with incident management. Incidents (and VMS settings) are monitored from control rooms and messages displayed on VMS are reviewed and removed as necessary.
	VMS messages are also set by an automated system which uses information from the motorway incident detection and automated signalling (MIDAS) system. MIDAS works from loops in the road surface, which detect slow moving or stationary traffic. The automated message system then sets messages to warn drivers and to protect the backs of queues. This safety system has been shown to save 13 percent. of tail-end collisions. Messages are automatically cancelled as traffic flows return to normal.

Network Rail

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that Network Rail's inventory of assets owned is publicly available.

Derek Twigg: Network Rail has a licence condition to establish and maintain information about its assets (the asset register"). Network Rail is accountable to the Office of Rail Regulation for this and plans to allow access for third parties within the industry to data which they need.

Nuclear Fuel/Waste

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times (a) nuclear fuel and (b) nuclear waste has passed through (i) the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency and (ii) Greater London by (A) road and (B) rail in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Information is only available on shipments of irradiated nuclear fuel flasks from nuclear power stations to Sellafield. Because of the nature of the railway network it is likely that shipments from power stations in south east England will have passed through London.
	The total number of flasks shipped from these power stations (Bradwell, Sizewell and Dungeness) during the last five years were:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 220 
			 2002 203 
			 2003 121 
			 2004 222 
			 2005 165 
		
	
	A single train may carry several flasks.
	Information is not available on how many of these shipments passed through the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency as the route chosen is an matter for the rail operator.

Pension Liabilities

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the net present value of accrued pension liabilities in respect of (a) present and (b) former employees of his Department and its predecessor.

Karen Buck: The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefit scheme and individual Departments' pension liabilities are not available.

Railway Stations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the railway stations in Hampshire which (a) do not have (i) waiting rooms and (ii) toilets and (b) are inaccessible under disability discrimination legislation; what steps are being taken to improve the position in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The following stations in Hampshire do not have waiting rooms and toilets and have steps to some of the platforms.
	Beaulieu Road;
	Bedhampton;
	Botley;
	Bursledon;
	Grateley;
	Hamble;
	Lymington Pier;
	Overton;
	Portchester;
	Rowlands Castle;
	Shawford.
	South West Trains, the station operator, currently complies with all its Franchise Agreement station facilities obligations and expects to continue to do so until the end of the franchise in February 2007.
	The Invitation to Tender for the South Western Franchise will require bidders to present their plans for improvements at stations throughout the franchise.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much is expected to be saved as a result of meeting the civil service work force reductions targets for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review; and whether these savings count towards the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the review.

Karen Buck: The Department has a target to reduce headcount by 700 full-time equivalents (FTEs) by 2007–08. The central Department will reduce headcount by 200 FTEs, which is expected to yield efficiency gains of £10.7 million in 2007–08. DVLA will reduce headcount by 500 FTEs which will contribute to the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group's target to deliver £70 million of economy and efficiency savings by 2007–08.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review is to be cashable; and under what budget headings these cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent.

Karen Buck: At least 50 per cent. of the Department's agreed efficiency target of £785 million will be cashable.
	The cashable savings due to be released through the efficiency programme were allocated across departmental expenditure following the SR04 spending settlement. There is no direct link to individual budget headings.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the target level of employment expressed as full-time equivalents is in his Department by April 2008, in order to meet his Department's civil service work force reductions target set out in the 2004 Spending Review.

Karen Buck: The target level of employment for the Department for Transport and executive agencies (excluding the Office of Rail Regulator, DfT staff in the Government Offices and the Government Car and Despatch Agency) for April 2008 is 17,981 full-time equivalent staff.
	The figure for April 2008 takes into account the planned reduction of 200 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in the centre of the Department for Transport and the reduction of 500 FTEs in DVLA.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what total efficiency savings were achieved by his Department in 2004–05; and whether these count towards the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review.

Karen Buck: The Department achieved efficiency gains of £288.3 million in 2004–05. These gains contribute to the Department's Spending Review 2004 target to achieve £785 million of efficiency gains by 2007–08.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what baseline figures he is using for assessing progress on his Department's targets to (a) improve roads procurement in local authorities, (b) increase tax collection by the Driver and Vehicle Operator Group and achieve efficiencies through transactional services and other areas within the Driver and Vehicle Operator Group, (c) restructure and reform his Department and its support services and (d) deliver efficiencies as a result of Transport for London's plans and from local authority spending; what progress has been made towards these targets to date; and what the total efficiency savings achieved to date are for these targets.

Karen Buck: The 2004 baseline figure for improving roads procurement in local authorities is equal to the local authority 2004–05 highways budget. As it is the decision of the local authorities how they divide their budget and only local authorities who choose to claim highways efficiencies calculate baselines, a precise baseline covering all local authority roads spend is unavailable. In 2004–05, the Highways Agency Local Authority Roads workstream achieved efficiency gains of £27 million.
	The baseline for increasing tax collection by the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group is based on the roadside survey of vehicle excise duty evasion carried out in 2003. The level of evasion was recorded as 4.8 per cent. In 2004–05 the level of evasion was 3.2 per cent. This decrease resulted in £77 million of efficiency gains.
	The 2004 baseline for efficiencies through transactional services and other areas in the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group is £723 million. This area generated efficiencies of 24.7 million in 2004–05.
	The baseline for reforming the Department and the Shared Services Programme is £228 million.
	The baseline for efficiencies resulting from Transport for London's (TfL) business plan is £2.25 billion. It was set in 2004-05. The baseline for efficiencies as a result of improvements in London Underground running and capacity from Public private partnerships (PPP) is £1 billion of the total TfL baseline from 2003–04. Due to the start date of the PPP contracts in December 2002 and April 2003, the most appropriate baseline for measuring these gains is 2003–04. In 2004–05 TfL realised efficiency gains of £119 million. An additional £46 million efficiency gains were realised as a result of improvements in London Underground running and capacity from PPPs.
	The baselines for efficiencies resulting from local authority non-roads spending (excluding TfL) is equal to the total local authority 2004-05 budget for this sector. It is the decision of local authorities how they divide their budget and only local authorities that choose to claim efficiencies in the non-roads spend area calculate baselines. This means a precise baseline covering all local authority non-roads spend is unavailable. In 2004–05, the local authority non-roads workstream (excluding TfL) generated £19 million of efficiency gains.
	Baselines and the basis for determining them were agreed with the Gershon Review Team.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what interim targets he has set for achieving (a) the agreed efficiency target for his Department and (b) the civil service work force reductions targets for (i) gross reductions in posts, (ii) net reductions in posts and (iii) relocations for his Department, as set out in the 2004 Spending Review; what the baseline figures are against which these interim targets are assessed; on what dates they will take effect; and by what dates these interim targets are intended to be met.

Karen Buck: The Department has a Spending Review 2004 target to achieve £785 million of efficiency gains by 2007-08. The Department has not established interim targets.
	The Department has a target to reduce headcount by 700 full-time equivalents (FTEs) by 2007–08 relative to the 2004 baseline.
	The Department has a target to relocate 60 posts out of London by 2010.
	The Department continually monitors and reviews progress towards the 2007–08 efficiency target across the Efficiency Programme.

Transport Infrastructure Projects

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the transport infrastructure projects on which his Department has carried out feasibility studies since 1997.

Karen Buck: For transport infrastructure projects, a range of appraisal information including assessments using the New Approach to Transport Appraisal system apply to all schemes submitted to the Department for funding. Appraisal will cover the practicality of a scheme and this may involve a specific feasibility study. The Department does not hold a comprehensive record of all of the infrastructure projects where a specific study on feasibility was undertaken. Often this work would be undertaken by the scheme promoter, such as a local authority, and compiling a list of such feasibility studies would be prohibitively expensive.
	Some particular rail projects where feasibility studies since 1997 were conducted by the Strategic Rail Authority, now part of the Department, were: The North South High Speed Line, Cross London Feasibility Study and The Future use of Waterloo International. The Government laid out its strategy for the future of the Air Transport industry in the Air Transport White Paper. This contains details of the supporting studies used in developing it, and can be found at: www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft aviation/documents/divisionhomepage/029650.hcsp

Transport Project Funding

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the guarantees the Government have provided to outside organisations for loans which have been used to fund transport projects.

Derek Twigg: Government have provided the following guarantees in relation to financing the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link:
	Government guaranteed bonds issued by London and Continental Railways (LCR).
	interest hedging arrangements entered into by LCR.
	payments of Track Access Charges by Eurostar to LCR.
	Government also provide credit support arrangements for borrowing by Network Rail.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the counter-terrorism role of Operation Enduring Freedom will continue to be discharged in Southern Afghanistan after the counter-insurgency role of NATO's International Security Assistance Force comes into operation there.

Adam Ingram: Operation Enduring Freedom will continue to discharge its counter-terrorist role in Southern Afghanistan after the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force expands into that area. NATO's Operational Plan contains clear command arrangements to co-ordinate and, where necessary, deconflict efforts within the two missions.

Afghanistan

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has received representations from the Army requesting more (a) combat troops, (b) helicopters and (c) artillery than have been allocated for the proposed deployment to Southern Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: No. The force package that the UK will send to Southern Afghanistan meets the requirements identified by the relevant military planning staffs and has been fully endorsed by the chiefs of staff.

Afghanistan

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military assessment he has received of the probable consequences of using military power to suppress opium production in Southern Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: As we have consistently made clear, tackling the opium trade in Afghanistan will require a broad and multi-faceted counter-narcotics strategy, under Afghan leadership, including development of legal rural livelihood opportunities for farmers and targeting of the traffickers by Afghan forces. UK troops deployed to Southern Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) can support Afghan counter-narcotics efforts, by helping to provide the secure environment in which the rule of law can be applied and the-economy can be developed and diversified. The Afghan Government should then be able to build popular support for its efforts to eradicate the drugs trade.

Caribbean Naval Patrols

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many months in each year since 1997 there has been a Royal Navy destroyer or frigate on anti-drugs patrol in the Caribbean; and what future schedule has been prepared for this role.

Adam Ingram: Since 1997, there has been a Royal Navy destroyer or frigate deployed on tasking in the Caribbean area for the following months per year:
	
		
			  Months 
		
		
			 1997 12 
			 1998 11 
			 1999 11 
			 2000 10 
			 2001 10 
			 2002 5 
			 2003 9 
			 2004 10 
			 2005 9 
		
	
	In 2006, we plan to provide coverage throughout the core hurricane season (July to October inclusive) and from early 2007 the introduction of an improved force generation process will enable us to resume year-round attribution of a destroyer or frigate to Caribbean tasks.

Defence Industrial Strategy

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's supply chain strategy within the Defence Industrial Strategy.

Adam Ingram: The supply chain strategy is currently being developed. The intention is to construct a clearer understanding of the defence supply base, its capabilities and technologies, sources of innovation and areas of potential vulnerability.

Departmental Estate

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of RAF Wyton.

Adam Ingram: A number of studies are currently under way but have not yet reported, whose outcomes may effect the future of RAF Wyton. One of these is to explore options for the collocation of the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) and the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA). A decision on DLO/DPA collocation is not expected before spring 2006, and will be subject to Trades Union consultation.

Departmental Finance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which public corporations his Department received a receipt from a (a) dividend payment and (b) equity withdrawal in financial years 2004-05; what the value of each receipt was; and whether receipts were (i) appropriated in aid of his Department and (ii) submitted to the Consolidated Fund.

Adam Ingram: During the financial year 2004-05, the Department received a dividend payment and equity withdrawal from QinetiQ (then a self financing public corporation). The income received was:
	(a) Dividend payment (on redeemed preference shares 2003-04): £5.759 million.
	(b) Equity withdrawal (redemption of preference shares): £48.543 million.
	Both were appropriated in aid of the Department.
	Notification of this income was provided in Note 10 of the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts 2004-05, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Finance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value was of receipts from asset sales that were (a) appropriated in aid of his Department and (b) submitted to the Consolidated Fund in financial year 2004-05.

Adam Ingram: The Department received a total of £366.9 million from asset sales, in the financial year 2004-05. Of this, £213.7 million was appropriated in aid of the Department and £153.2 million surrendered as excess Appropriations in Aid to the Consolidated Fund.

Electromagnetic Pulse Weapons

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to ensure that measures are in place to counter the effects of an electromagnetic pulse weapon used against UK forces in the field.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 July 2003, Official Report, column 808W, to the hon. Member for South-East Cornwall (Mr. Breed).

Fleet Air Defence

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the main air defence assets which will be available to the fleet in the years between the withdrawal of the Sea Harriers and the entry into service of the joint combat aircraft.

Adam Ingram: The backbone of the fleet's ability to defend itself from air attack in the years between the withdrawal of the Sea Harrier in March 2006 and the entry into service of the joint combat aircraft, will continue to be provided by destroyers. At present, this is achieved using the eight Type 42 destroyers equipped with the medium range Sea Dart surface to air missile system. Destroyers of the Daring Class will gradually replace the Type 42 destroyers. These new ships will be armed with the Principal Anti Air Missile System, enhancing the fleet's capability to counter the most sophisticated aircraft and anti-ship missiles in the world.
	The fleet's close range air defence capability will continue to be provided by Type 22 and Type 23 Frigates equipped with the Seawolf point defence missile system. Additional air defence capability will also come from a combination of close-in weapon (gun) systems, such as GOALKEEPER and PHALANX, and decoys.
	Airborne Early Warning Sea King helicopters will provide the long range detection of airborne contacts.

Joint Combat Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for the operational capabilities of the joint combat aircraft of United States refusal to include Rolls-Royce engines in its design.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom has supported the continuation of F136 as a competitive alternative to the Fl35 and as a through life risk reduction measure for the JSF programme. However, JSF is being designed so that the F135, Pratt and Whitney and F136, General Electric/Rolls-Royce engines would have been fully interchangeable, so the UK's requirements for JSF will continue to be met by the F135 alone if the United States decides to stop development of the F136 due to budget pressures. Our preference, however, was for the dual engine approach and strong representation was made to the US administration supporting this.

Missile Systems

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for future upgrades to UK missile systems; and what plans he has to develop a strategy to incorporate emerging technologies into existing weapons systems.

Adam Ingram: A number of upgrades to missile systems are planned to meet emerging requirements. These include incremental technology insertion programmes to upgrade the RAF's Storm Shadow missiles, and the Royal Navy's and Seawolf missiles.
	Our approach to incorporating emerging technologies into existing weapons systems will be taken forward as part of the wider work to develop a co-ordinated strategy for complex weapons.

Niche Technologies

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to assist the development of niche technologies through small and medium-sized enterprises.

Adam Ingram: As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, the Ministry of Defence is working with industry and universities to identify sources of innovation and to identify where technologies of vital strategic importance are located. We recognise that we must work together more effectively with industry (including small and medium-sized enterprises) and universities, to stimulate innovation and exploit research and technology to meet defence needs. Specifically, we are developing a better understanding of the innovation process and mapping out the technology trees for major capabilities, systems and platforms.
	MOD has placed at least an estimated 10 per cent. by value of its extramural research and development contracts with SMEs in recent years as laid out in the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) performance figures for 2003-04 and 2004-05 a copy of which is in the Library of the House. This exceeds the SBRI target for Government Departments of at least 2.5 per cent.

Royal Ordnance Sites

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which trade unions are involved in the proposed closure of Royal Ordnance sites; and which sites are under discussion.

Adam Ingram: The trade unions involved with the BAE Systems Land Systems (BAES LS) rationalisation are AMICUS, Prospect, GMB and T and G.
	The focus of these discussions is a matter between the trade unions and the company.

Standing Naval Tasks

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the standing naval tasks carried out by the Royal Navy in each year since 1997 and those scheduled for discontinuation.

Adam Ingram: The Royal Navy conducts a variety of naval tasks, either as standing strategic, home or overseas commitments, or as enduring contingent operations overseas. Except where stated, the tasks listed below have been maintained from 1997:
	Standing Strategic Tasks:
	Strategic Deterrent
	Hydrographic and Oceanographic Survey
	Standing Home Commitments:
	Fleet Ready Escort
	Mine Counter Measures Route Surveys
	Fishery Protection
	Northern Ireland Operations— task ended April 2005
	Search and Rescue
	Standing Overseas Commitments:
	Defence and Security of Gibraltar, Falkland Islands and Cyprus Sovereign Base Areas
	Atlantic Patrol Task (North)—formerly West Indies Guardship
	Atlantic Patrol Task (South)—formerly South Atlantic Guardship
	Standing NATO Naval Forces—combination of former Maritime Groups
	Five Power Defence Arrangement—each year except 1998
	Contingent Operations Overseas:
	Op Telic (The Gulf)—formerly Op Armilla
	Op Calash (Arabian Sea and Horn of Africa)—formerly Op Armilla
	Arabian Gulf Ready Tanker
	None of these tasks are scheduled for discontinuation.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the planned out of service dates are for (a) HMS Illustrious, (b) HMS Ark Royal and (c) HMS Ocean.

Adam Ingram: On present plans the out of service dates are as follows:
	HMS Illustrious—2012.
	HMS Ark Royal—2013.
	HMS Ocean—2018.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Biomass Conversion

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated to assess the direct transformation of biomass into hydrogen.

Malcolm Wicks: The DTI commissioned two reports in 2004 in relation to hydrogen: Hydrogen Energy Support in the UK" and A Strategic Framework for Hydrogen Energy Activity in the UK". These reports have been published on the Department's website. The second report identified six potential hydrogen energy chains for the use of hydrogen as a transport fuel. One route is to produce hydrogen biomass (with optional carbon capture and storage).
	On 15 June 2005, I announced the Government's response to the second report A Strategic Framework for Hydrogen Energy Activity in the UK" which included a funding package of £15 million over four years for a UK wide hydrogen and fuel cell demonstration programme. The details of the demonstration scheme is currently being developed, and requires EC State Aid approval.
	Basic research in universities is supported through the UK Research Councils. The EPSRC is funding two relevant SUPERGEN consortia:
	1. The SUPERGEN biological fuel cell consortium. This was announced in December 2005. This is a £2 million investment over four-year period. This is a consortium of teams from six universities aims to achieve major advances in a technology that potentially produces electricity directly from sustainable biological materials and air, in devices known as biological fuel cells. The Consortium programme involves a combination of expertise drawn from the research areas of microbiology, enzymology, electrochemistry, materials science and computational modelling. A Biofuel Cells Industrial Club" is to be formed, with industrial partners active in water management, porous materials, microbiology, biological catalysis and fuel cell technology.
	2. SUPERGEN UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy (UKSHEC): part of its remit is to advance the scientific understanding of the biological generation of sustainable hydrogen. UKSHEC was established in 2003 and will continue until 2007.
	In addition the following projects were funded by EPSRC:
	(i) The project Unmixed reforming of vegetable oil for hydrogen production" investigated the viability of vegetable oil as the fuel for a novel steam reforming process. This project was completed in December 2004.
	(ii) The project Sustainable biohydrogen production" investigated optimising hydrogen yields from biomass by continuous fermentative processes operating on mixed microflora on any substrate. This project was completed in October 2004.

Blue Skies Initiative

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many homeowners have received grants from the Blue Skies Initiative since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the Clear Skies initiative of the 6,860 homeowners that have been accepted for a grant 5,458 homeowners have so far claimed and received it.

Business Plans

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place a copy of the (a) Natural Environment Research Council and (b) Centre for Ecology and Hydrology business plans in the Library.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Delivery Plan for 2005-08 and proposed Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Business Plan are currently available on the NERC website http://www.nerc.ac.uk.

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Research

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what the Government's plans are for closing the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology research sites in the next 10 years; and what representations he has received on this;
	(2)  what evidence the Natural Environment Research Council presented to his Department as a basis for its decision to close four Centre for Ecology and Hydrology research sites; and what assessment he has made of this evidence;
	(3)  what guidance the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) was given before its board decided to close (a) Winfrith, South Dorset and (b) other NERC research facilities.

Barry Gardiner: The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) is wholly owned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and decisions on its future are the responsibility of NERC. The science budget allocation to NERC has doubled since 1997, demonstrating our commitment to maintaining the quality of environmental, research in the UK. NERC is responsible for determining the details of how this funding is allocated to specific activities. NERC is currently considering the input from a wide consultation with stakeholders on proposals to place CEH onto a sustainable financial footing, and decisions are expected to be taken by NERC Council in March.
	Officials from the Office of Science and Technology attend the meetings of NERC Council as observers; these meetings have included discussions concerning the future of CEH. Following NERC Council in December 2005, NERC issued a Statement of Intent regarding the future of CEH, accompanied by a copy of the CEH Business Plan containing the rationale for NERC's proposals.
	The Department has received a number of letters from Members of Parliament, trade unions, environmental organisations, members of the public and others, about NERC's proposal to restructure CEH.

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Research

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ecologists were represented on the Executive Board of the National Environment Research Council during each discussion of the most recent Centre for Ecology and Hydrology business plan.

Barry Gardiner: The science budget allocation to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has doubled since 1997, demonstrating our commitment to maintaining the quality of environmental research in the UK. NERC is currently considering the input from a wide consultation with stakeholders on proposals on how the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) can contribute to this on a sustainable basis.
	NERC Council is the governing body of NERC. Three members of Council are ecologists and another member has expertise in ecological toxicology. All were present at recent Council discussions of the CEH business plan.

Compensation Claims

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward legislation to extend the period in which compensation may be sought from a builder for poor workmanship; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 provides the consumer with basic rights which apply to most contracts for services. It requires a trader—such as a builder, who agrees to carry out a service, to carry out that service with reasonable care and skill. Complaints can be brought to court up to six years later. A consumer may also have a claim in negligence. The basic period in which to bring a claim is the same, however in the case of a hidden defect the consumer may claim within three years after discovering the defect (provided that not more than 15 years have elapsed since the work was done). This extended period was introduced in 1986 and there are no plans to make any changes.

Cricket World Cup

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what UK Trade and Investment's budget is for the proposed market visit to the Caribbean in 2006 to allow small and medium-sized businesses to pursue opportunities created by the forthcoming Cricket World Cup in 2007; and what proportion of the budget is for direct financial aid to businesses that may wish to take advantage of the scheme.

Ian Pearson: Under UK Trade and Investment's Market Visit Support scheme, there are no market visits planned to the Caribbean for the remainder of the financial year 2005–06. For the financial year 2006–07 commencing 1 April, UKTI's regional teams are developing their plans for market visits in line with their trade development responsibilities. At present one market visit to the Caribbean is under consideration where a budget of £6,500 has been proposed to support around 10 small and medium enterprises.
	In addition, Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, as part of the West Midlands EU funded ERDF project, is taking a group of companies to Barbados, St. Lucia and Jamaica from 17–24 April 2006, as part of a structured export development programme, to investigate specific export opportunities, some of which are linked to the Cricket World Cup. The entire EU funding available will go direct to small and medium sized enterprises in the West Midlands objective 2 area. UKTIs involvement is to provide International Trade Advisers to support the companies in their preparation and to help them follow up any opportunities identified.

Debt

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications for the Department's work on responsible lending and personal indebtedness of the decision by the Legal Services Commission to withdraw funding for specialist support and advice on debt; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Legal Services Commission has decided not to continue funding for specialist support, as from July 2006.
	DTI recognises that second tier support for debt advisors can contribute to ensuring responsible lending and tackling over-indebtedness. However, the Government has decided to focus its funding on direct advice provision. DTI administers the £45 million project for face-to-face debt advice, provides funding for National Debtline and supported the launch of the new Debt Advice Helpline pilot on 27 February. We will continue to collaborate with other Departments on their debt advice projects and work with the sector to encourage sustainable funding for debt advice from a broad range of sources.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Law Society and (b) the Legal Services Ombudsman about breaches of regulation 4 of the conditional fee regulations with regard to miners' hearing loss claims.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department, to date, has had no such discussions with either the Law Society or the Legal Services Ombudsman.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions in cases from Bassetlaw residents solicitors' costs have been partially refused due to breach of regulation 4 of the conditional fee regulations for miners' hearing loss claims to Government.

Malcolm Wicks: This information is not readily available. Miners' hearing loss claims are not schemed so solicitors' costs for each claim are dealt with on their own merits. Concerns relating to a breach of regulation 4 of the conditional fee regulations would be raised as part of the negotiations on the appropriate level of costs for any given claim.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which solicitors have had costs partially refused due to breach of regulation 4 of the conditional fee regulations for miners' hearing loss claims to Government.

Malcolm Wicks: This information is not readily available. Miners' hearing loss claims are not schemed so solicitors' costs for each claim are dealt with on their own merits. Concerns relating to a breach of regulation 4 of the conditional fee regulations would be raised as part of the negotiations on the appropriate level of costs for any given claim.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date the Government's insurers first refused to pay part of solicitors' costs due to breach of regulation 4 of the conditional fee agreement regulations.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has always refused to meet solicitors' costs in full where there has been a breach of regulation 4 of the conditional fee agreement (CFA) regulations. The CFA regime was introduced in 2000 but breaches of regulation 4 have become more common in relation to miners' hearing loss claims since 2004.

Natural Environment Research Council

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many members of the Natural Environment Research Council Executive board were ecologists when the decision to close the facility at Winfrith, South Dorset, was taken.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The science budget allocation to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has doubled since 1997, demonstrating our commitment to maintaining the quality of environmental research in the UK. NERC is currently considering the input from a wide consultation with stakeholders on proposals on how the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) can contribute to this on a sustainable basis.
	NERC Council is the governing body of NERC, and decisions on these proposals are expected to be taken by NERC Council in March. Three members of Council are ecologists and another member has expertise in ecological toxicology.

Natural Environment Research Council

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the scientific qualifications are of each of the National Environment Research Council Executive board members.

Barry Gardiner: The governing body responsible for decisions at the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is NERC Council. Details of members of NERC Council, including relevant scientific qualifications, expertise and research interests, are available on the NERC website at http://www.nerc.ac.uk/secretariat-council/.

Newspapers

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what representations he has received on anti-competitive practices in the newspaper wholesale and distribution sector;
	(2)  what representations he has received about regional monopolies in newspaper distribution.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Competition issues associated with newspaper distribution arrangements have been the subject of extensive public consultation in recent years.
	Between June 2003 and early 2004, the Government consulted on proposals concerning the treatment of exclusions and exemptions from competition law—including vertical agreements such as those relating to newspaper and magazine distribution. A copy of the consultation document may be found on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/consultpdf/modconsult1.pdf Section 4 of that consultation document dealt with vertical agreements and the question of whether the order made in 2000 excluding vertical agreements from prohibition under UK competition law should be repealed. Parties from the newspaper and magazine supply chain were among those that submitted views to the consultation. The Government's response may be found on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/consultpdf/compmodresp.pdf (section 7).
	In 2004, following repeal of the domestic exclusion for vertical agreements, a number of industry parties sought advice from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on the continued compatibility with competition law of agreements relating to the distribution of newspapers and magazines and requested the OFT recommend a new block exemption to cover such agreements. The OFT received representations from across the newspaper and magazine supply chain about the operation of the market. A number of the parties that made representations to the OFT wrote separately to DTI Ministers expressing their views. The OFT published its preliminary opinion on the matter in May 2005 for consultation. A copy can be found on the OFT website at www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F7299676-BAAC-439B-A5A7-2A7AB3191B50/0/oft450.pdf The OFT received a number of further representations which it has since been considering. Again, a number of the parties that made representations to the OFT have written separately to DTI Ministers expressing their views. Ministers have also received letters on the matter from a number of hon. Members writing on behalf of constituents and from a small number of private individuals.
	I understand the OFT intends to outline the next steps in this case in the near future.

Post Offices

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) types and (b) levels of subsidy have been given to the rural post office network in (i) Wales, (ii) Ogmore constituency and (iii) the Bridgend County Borough area in each year since 1997; and what the average annual income of a rural post office from each such subsidy was in each year.

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Alan Cook the Managing Director has been asked to reply direct to my hon. Friend.

Post Offices

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices in (a) Ogmore constituency, (b) the Bridgend County Borough area and (c) the Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough area are designated (i) rural, (ii) urban and (iii) other.

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). The Chief Operating Officer, David Miller has been asked to reply direct to my hon. Friend.

Power Generation

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of (a) the amount of biomass which will be co-fired with coal at power stations between (i) April 2005 and March 2006 and (ii) April 2006 and March 2007, (b) the resultant level of carbon dioxide emissions in each period and (c) the carbon dioxide emissions which would result from firing solely with coal in each period.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The Renewables Obligation requires generators to provide Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) as evidence that 5.5 per cent. of their electricity supply has been generated from eligible renewable sources in the period from April 2005 to March 2006 and 6.7 per cent. in the period from April 2006 to March 2007. ROCs issued for co-firing biomass with fossil fuel can be used as evidence for 25 per cent. of a supplier's obligation for the period from April 2005-March 2006 and 10 per cent. of a supplier's obligation for the period from April 2006 to March 2007.
	The Department does not make estimates of the amount of biomass co-fired with coal in the periods mentioned. A publication (available by entering reference URN 05/1159 at www.dti.gov.uk/publications) in August 2005 from the Co-firing of Biomass at UK Power Plant project under the DTI's Carbon Abatement Technologies Programme indicated potential maximum co-firing levels of 4.4TWh in the period from April 2005-March 2006 and 2.2TWh from April 2006-March 2007 based on the caps set by the Renewables Obligation.
	The precise carbon dioxide savings will depend on the level of fossil-fuel substitution, the nature of the biomass and the operating conditions of the fossil-fuel generating station.
	Average figures for carbon dioxide emissions from power generation given on the DTI Energy Statistics website are 910g/kWh for coal-fired generation and 360g/kWh for gas-fired generation. The Renewables Innovation Review indicated net carbon dioxide emissions for a range of biomass fuels of 22-45g/kWh.

Science Infrastructure

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he introduce a process by which reviews of the science infrastructure are in future subject to a form of public inquiry.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 27 February 2006
	Science infrastructure is funded by the DTI through a number of routes. Universities are funded directly via the Science Research Investment Fund. Other investments are channelled through the Research Councils, who fund infrastructure both within the university sector and within their own institutes. Councils can also draw on the centrally-held Large Facilities Capital Fund for the largest new capital projects. The Research Councils or individual universities and research institutes are responsible for taking decisions on investments in science including new scientific infrastructure. Each Research Council has mechanisms for ensuring decisions are taken impartially in the best interests of the UK scientific community, overseen by a governing Council. The Department organises periodic prioritisation exercises carried out by the Research Councils to inform on the allocations of the Large Facilities Capital Fund. All the decisions and processes of the Department and the Research Councils are subject to scrutiny by the National Audit Office.

Sunday Trading

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the independent report on the cost-benefit analysis of amending the Sunday trading legislation will be published.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Our intention is to publish the independent cost-benefit analysis on the impact of further liberalisation of Sunday trading in spring 2006.

Wind Turbines

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what work is being undertaken to test the feasibility of straight-bladed vertical-axis wind turbines.

Malcolm Wicks: None.
	This is primarily a matter for wind turbine manufacturers.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Child Care Support

Peter Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if the Government will take steps to increase support for women who do not work and who look after their children at home.

Meg Munn: holding answer 15 February 2006
	Government have introduced a variety of measures to support parents and carers in various aspects of their lives. These include a range of benefits and increased access to pensions that have and will continue to benefit many women.
	Many non-working mothers have benefited substantially from measures introduced by the Government since 1997, such as tax credits. Child tax credit provides support to families with children, which is payable alongside child benefit to the main carer (usually the mother), regardless of whether they are in work or not. Budget 2005 announced a commitment to increase the child element of child tax credit at least in line with average earnings up to and including 2007–08. From April the child element of child tax credit will be worth up to £1,765 a year for each child.
	Also the introduction of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and the state second pension have both been successful in helping women who care for their children full-time to secure a better income for their retirement. Around 1.8 million of the 1.9 million carers who will benefit from the state second pension are women.
	We have made progress in the support offered to parents and are committed to improving this wherever possible.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list schools which offer parents access to adult and family learning opportunities.

Phil Hope: The information requested is not available. However a baseline survey of 3,300 maintained schools published in September 2005 showed that 85 per cent. of nursery schools, 59 per cent. of primary schools and 58 per cent. of secondary schools were offering some form of adult education (including family learning and parenting courses). We will have more details following the 2006 schools' census exercise.

Beacon Colleges

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  whether an upper limit has been set on the number of Beacon colleges in any one area;
	(2)  what the criteria are for colleges to obtain Beacon status; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The overall aim of the Learning and Skills Beacon arrangements is to help improve quality across the learning and skills sector as a whole. Colleges and other providers are awarded Beacon status both to recognise their excellence and to ensure the spread of quality nationally.
	There is a four stage selection process for Beacon status, as set out on the Department's Beacon website www.beaconstatus.org:
	First, providers are assessed against inspection-related criteria.
	Secondly, the LSC and the Department consider the candidate providers, in terms of provider type and region, so as to ensure that there is a reasonable geographical spread and mix by type of provider, thus enabling the maximum impact on the quality of the sector as a whole. There is no upper limit on the number of Beacons in any one area.
	After taking account of the first two stages, individual providers are invited to submit proposals on how they will assist improvement and reform nationally. These are considered by an independent advisory panel consisting of a number of key organisations in the sector.
	Finally, the Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education makes decisions on the award of Beacon status.

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases are waiting to be allocated to a caseworker in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS); and what the average length of time was for allocation of new cases to a caseworker in each CAFCASS region in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: This is a matter for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the CAFCASS chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	Letter from Anthony Douglas, dated 27 February 2005
	Written Response to Parliamentary Question 51160
	I am writing to you in response to the above Parliamentary Question that you put to the Secretary of State and Education and Skills.
	It is my responsibility, as CAFCASS Chief Executive, to reply to this particular Parliamentary Question.
	At 30 November 2005 (our most recent data collection point), 275 or 2.5% of our public law cases were unallocated. Public law includes applications for local authority care and supervision orders and applications for adoption. At 30 November 2005, 1419 or 16.5% of our private law reports were unallocated. This figure is a snapshot provided on a monthly basis. Private law includes applications for parental responsibility, residence and contact, where parents have been unable to reach agreement and Rule 9.5 cases under the Family Proceedings Rules (1991), in which a child involved in a private law case is represented by a Guardian ad Litem. Of the private law reports unallocated, 326 or 3.8% were unallocated less than 10 weeks before filing date, which is our performance indicator agreed with Government for private law.
	The allocation of cases, particularly in private law, is now under review as part of our Every Day Matters consultation programme, which has been focusing on all aspects of our professional strategy and performance. A key shift will be towards an early intervention model in those cases, which will benefit most from that. We also now have dispute resolution schemes in place in our local teams, and families who can benefit from this service now receive a prompt and timely service.
	Both our public and private law performance on allocation in 2005/6 is within our key performance indicator targets of 3% and 4% of cases respectively being unallocated.
	We do not collect data for the average length of time for the allocation of new cases to a caseworker by region, though I keep overall performance by region and local teams under constant review through the work of the CAFCASS Performance Board which meets monthly.
	I would like to add that CAFCASS is committed to providing a quality service to all its users. CAFCASS believes that the welfare of the child is paramount and any decisions made about a child's future must reflect this principle. This means we give priority to situations in which children face most distress or instability.

Higher Education

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she has taken to improve procurement in the higher education sector; and what savings have been made as a consequence.

Bill Rammell: This Government are committed to improving efficiency and value for money in education. The Government are working with the higher education sector by:
	working in partnership with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE);
	working with consortia on strategic sourcing projects;
	identifying where the wider education sector can benefit from the procurement developments in the higher education sector.
	We will be measuring efficiency gains from a range of specific initiatives which contribute to our Gershon efficiency target, including those in the higher education sector. These are set out in our Efficiency Technical Note at www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/docs/DfES%20Efficiency%20Technical%20Note.doc In most cases, the gains are recyclable at the front line into other activities rather than being clawed back by the Department. The Department is reporting progress towards our overall efficiency target through existing departmental reporting processes. We reported progress towards our target in the Department's autumn performance report and will report further progress in the departmental annual report which we expect to publish in April.

Internet Access

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures her Department is taking to ensure children at school are unable to access inappropriate material on the internet.

Phil Hope: The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) on behalf of the Department established the Becta Accreditation of Internet Services to Education scheme as part of the wider strategy to address internet safety in education. The scheme enables schools to purchase services from accredited suppliers that meet and maintain specific standards in content filtering and service performance. It is open to commercial internet service providers (ISPs) and many public bodies such as Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs) and local authorities (LAs).
	Schools should have an effective range of technological solutions as part of their strategy when safeguarding children from harmful content on the internet. However, it is also necessary for schools to develop their own individual internet safety polices based on their local requirements. Becta has provided a range of advice and guidance to schools and local authorities to help support this. Specifically, schools can access guidance relating to internet safety issues at http://www.becta.org.uk/schools/esafety

Research and Development

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on the issue of raising research and development spending; and if she will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
	The European Union has set itself an ambitious and challenging objective to increase its investment in research and development towards 3 per cent. of GDP by 2010.
	In the context of the Competitiveness Council on 28 and 29 November 2005, European Ministers agreed Council conclusions on the subject of More Research and Innovation—Investing for Growth and Employment". These conclusions point to a shared political commitment to increase spending on R and D and detail a range of measures that may be required at the level of the member states and of the European Community to facilitate that increase. These measures may include public spending at the European level (the seventh R and D framework programme, improved access to finance for private-sector investments, identification of regulatory obstacles to innovation and improvements to the mobility and careers of researchers.

Safeguarding Children

George Young: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects to reply to question 45243 tabled by the hon. Member for North West Hampshire for answer on 23 January, on safeguarding children.

Ruth Kelly: I responded to the right hon. Member on 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1570W.

Skills Training

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people aged (a) 30 to 39 years, (b) 40 to 49 years and (c) 50 years and over received skills training in (i) Staffordshire and (ii) Tamworth constituency in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: The following table shows the numbers of non-academic long courses of more than 24 weeks duration undertaken in Tamworth and in Staffordshire by academic years and for the age bands requested.
	
		
			  Tamworth Staffordshire(2) 
			  30-39 40-49 50+ 30-39 40-49 50+ 
		
		
			 1997/98 813 547 348 11,605 8,465 6,374 
			 1998/99 846 578 368 11,511 8,635 6,862 
			 1999/2000 811 554 405 10,984 8,201 7,458 
			 2000/01 763 626 492 11,416 8,957 8,727 
			 2001/02 827 681 648 11,814 9,489 10,027 
			 2002/03 824 728 808 9,186 7,610 8,157 
			 2003/04 748 602 667 9,098 7,733 8,275 
			 2004/05 782 672 646 8,659 7,493 7,266 
		
	
	(2) Figures for Staffordshire include Tamworth. The other Staffordshire constituencies are Burton, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent Central, Stoke-on-Trent North, Stoke-on-Trent South, Stone.
	Source:
	Individual Student Record 1997/98 to 2001/02 and Individual Learner Record 2002/03 to 2004/05.

Specialised Diplomas

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which specialised diplomas will be available in 2008 for pupils aged 14 years.

Phil Hope: The specialised diplomas available for teaching to young people aged 14 years and upwards in September 2008 will be in ICT, Engineering, Health and Social Care, Construction and the Built Environment and Creative and Media.

Student Loans Company

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Inland Revenue last updated the Student Loans Company on debt repayments by graduates in the UK.

Bill Rammell: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC, formerly Inland Revenue) regularly updates the Student Loans Company (SLC) as annual returns from employers are processed. These updates are on a monthly basis and the SLC last processed information from HMRC on 10 February.

University Pay

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations she has received regarding levels of remuneration for university teaching staff.

Bill Rammell: The Department has received correspondence about university staff pay. However, as universities are autonomous they are responsible for determining their own academic and administrative affairs, including deciding what to pay their own staff. Pay and conditions of service are subject to negotiations between employers, their staff and their representative trade union bodies. The Government plays no part in this.

HEALTH

Fuel for Living"

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 481W, on young people (culinary ability), what the (a) actual and (b) planned expenditure is on the free recipe guide Fuel for Living".

Caroline Flint: The Fuel for Living" recipe booklet is part of the 5 A DAY Campaign, which provides information and practical advice to improve the diet. The booklet targets the young independent group of 16 to 24-year-olds, who have a lower than average intake of fruit and vegetables so there is a need to provide information and help to improve their diet.
	The actual cost of developing the booklet was £42,370, which includes design and artwork, research, expert input and agency fees. The printing and production cost for one million copies was £59,555.

Alcohol-related Illness (Thames Valley)

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidences of alcohol-related illness there have been in the Thames Valley health authority in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The number of people being treated for alcohol-related illnesses in the Thames Valley strategic health authority are shown in the following table.
	
		Counts of finished consultant episodes and patients for selected(3) alcohol related diseasesTable 1: F10, K70 or T51 recorded in any of the diagnosis fields (primary or any of the secondary fields)
		
			  All diagnosis count of episodes 
			  Finished consultant episodes Patient counts 
		
		
			 1997–98 3,376 2,399 
			 1998–99 3,305 2,352 
			 1999–2000 3,578 2,483 
			 2000–01 3,759 2,433 
			 2001–02 3,905 2,528 
			 2002–03 3,661 2,334 
			 2003–04 4,626 2,853 
			 2004–05 5,825 3,429 
		
	
	
		Table 2: F10, K70 or T51 recorded in the primary diagnosis field.
		
			  Primary diagnosis 
			  Finished consultant episodes Patient counts 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,198 890 
			 1998–99 1,135 826 
			 1999–2000 1,141 835 
			 2000–01 1,193 818 
			 2001–02 1,244 897 
			 2002–03 1,272 827 
			 2003–04 1,379 950 
			 2004–05 1,704 1,116 
		
	
	(3) Alcohol related diseases defined as following ICD-10 codes:
	F10: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol.
	K70: Alcoholic liver disease.
	T51: Toxic effect of alcohol.
	Strategic health authority of residence=Thames Valley NHS Hospitals, England 1997–98 to 2004–05.
	Notes:
	1. Finished consultant episode (FCE)
	An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	2. Patient counts
	Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier hospital episode statistic identification(HESID). This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and national health service number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data are incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.
	3. All diagnosis count of episodes
	These figures represent a count of all FCE's where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in a HES record.
	4. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	5. Secondary diagnoses
	As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002–03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.
	6. Ungrossed data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is the data are ungrossed.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre

Aspartame

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has (a) carried out and (b) commissioned to establish whether the artificial sweetener aspartame is carcinogenic.

Caroline Flint: The Government have commissioned several reviews of the safety and carcinogenicity of aspartame.
	Aspartame was first reviewed in 1982 by the United Kingdom's committee on toxicity (COT), a committee of independent experts who advise the Government on the safety of food chemicals. New data on aspartame was reviewed by COT in 1992 and by the committee on the carcinogenicity (COC) in 1996. COT was satisfied that aspartame was acceptable for use in food and COC considered there was no link between brain tumours and aspartame.
	At the request of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), in 2001, the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food revisited its previous safety assessment of aspartame and concluded that there is no evidence to suggest a need to revise the outcome of their earlier risk assessment.
	In response to new findings on the potential carcinogenicity of aspartame published by the Ramazzini Institute the FSA commissioned a review by COC. The Committee made initial observations on the data and will be undertaking a further review of more detailed data from the study in March 2006. The FSA will forward the COC advice to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which is undertaking a full evaluation of the study in the context of previous safety data. EFSA hopes to complete its evaluation by May 2006.

Audiology Services

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects a patient referred to Worthing Hospital for an audiology test leading to a hearing aid to receive the aid within (a) 80, (b) 50, (c) 20 and (e) six weeks.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not held centrally. However, I understand from the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority that they recognise that the waiting time for the assessment and fitting of digital hearing aids in the Worthing area is too long. The Worthing and Southlands Hospital National Health Service Trust continues to work with its primary care trust partners to develop options to bring this waiting time down.

BCG Vaccination

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the savings made since the policy of free tuberculosis vaccinations administered in schools came to an end.

Caroline Flint: Funding for immunisation services including the Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination programme, form part of the annual allocation to primary care trusts (PCTs). PCTs are responsible for the management of those monies and running of immunisation programmes. As a result of the changes to the BCG vaccination programme, PCTs will re direct monies to reflect how the BCG programme will be implemented within their PCT.

BCG Vaccination

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department issues to people who are not eligible for a free BCG vaccination concerning attendance at universities and travel (a) abroad and (b) to cities with a high incidence of tuberculosis.

Caroline Flint: There has never been a departmental recommendation that Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) should be available prior to attendance at a university. If a university requires this vaccination as a condition of entry, then it is the responsibility of the institution to provide it.
	BCG vaccination prior to travel abroad is only recommended for individuals under the age of 35 years of age, who are not tuberculin positive if they will be living and working in a country with a high incidence of tuberculosis (TB) (40/100,000 or greater) for more than one month. In these circumstances, it should be the responsibility of individuals.
	Individuals over the age of 12 months living in, or moving into an area of the United Kingdom where there is an incidence of TB (40/100,000 or greater) is not on its own, an indication for BCG vaccination.

BCG Vaccination

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to (a) inform parents of her Department's change in BCG vaccination for children policy and (b) assess the effectiveness of her information strategy.

Caroline Flint: The Chief Medical Officer announced changes to the Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) programme via a letter to the medical profession and primary care trusts on 6 July 2005. In support of these changes an updated leaflet, fact sheet, and poster were produced and sent directly to the groups listed above. All of these resources were aimed at raising awareness of tuberculosis (TB), and also informing health professionals and the general public alike, of the changes to BCG policy. All these resources were also made available to order free of charge via the Department's publications line.
	The 6 July 2005 policy changes also meant that the tuberculin skin test was given in a different way, with the Mantoux test replacing the Heaf test. The Department produced a flip chart and DVD for training purposes. These were made available to order free of charge via the Department's publications line and sent directly to all TB clinics. Following these changes, the Department held a meeting of immunisation co-ordinators who are responsible for implementation of the BCG programme within their localities. The public information materials were shared with the co-ordinators and their views obtained.
	The Department has also carried out public awareness testing on matters relating to TB and its control, and all information materials on TB and BCG are pre-tested with members of the public.

BCG Vaccination

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent on BCG vaccinations for secondary school children in (a) 1997 and (b) 2005.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 14 February 2006
	The information as currently requested is not available.

BCG Vaccination

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many school children received BCG vaccinations in schools in (a) 1997 and (b) 2005;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the annual number of school children who will be given BCG vaccinations in schools under the revised vaccination system; how many were inoculated in the last year of the previous system; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 14 February 2006
	The number of Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) immunisations carried out each year and by age group since 1994–95 is published in the statistical bulletin, NHS Immunisation Statistics, England: 2004–05", a copy of which is available in the Library.
	The change in policy announced by the chief medical officer on 6 July 2005, states that children who would otherwise have been offered BCG vaccination through the schools programme will now be screened, tested and vaccinated if appropriate. It is therefore the responsibility of the primary care trusts to arrange suitable screening opportunities outside of the school setting.

Blood Products

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what conclusions were reached in the review of departmental papers on self-sufficiency in blood products.

Caroline Flint: The report, Self Sufficiency in Blood Products in England and Wales'' was published on 27 February 2006. The report contains an executive summary, which includes the main conclusions of the review. Copies of the report are available in the Library and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/09/35/04130935.pdf.

Breast Cancer

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the possible effects of the (a) use of oral contraception and (b) alcohol consumption on the risks of breast cancer.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 2 February 2006
	The evidence for an increased risk of breast cancer in women who use oral contraceptives (OCs) has been under constant review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, in conjunction with the independent expert advisory committee the Commission for Human Medicines.
	In studies, a slightly higher number of cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women who were OC users than in women of the same age who were not. The most important factor for this increased risk was found to be the age at which women stopped using oral contraceptives—the length of time for which women used OCs was less important. In women who stopped using oral contraceptives, their increased risk of having breast cancer diagnosed disappeared after 10 years.
	Currently available evidence suggests that for every 10,000 women who use oral contraceptives for up to five years, the number of cases of breast cancer that would be diagnosed for up to 10 years after stopping OCs is as shown in the table.
	
		
			 Age at stopping OCs Number of cases of breast cancer in 10,000 women who have never used OCs Number of breast cancers in 10,000 women after five years OCs use and up to 10 years after stopping 
		
		
			 25 years 16 17.5 
			 30 years 44 48.7 
			 35 years 100 111 
			 40 years 160 181 
			 45 years 230 262 
		
	
	However, even at these higher ages the increase in risk, attributable to OCs, for individual women remains very low.
	Like all effective medicines, OC is not without side effects and it is very important that both prescribers and women are fully aware of these potential side effects when considering which method of contraception is the most appropriate for individuals.
	The Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment made a statement on alcohol consumption and risk of developing breast cancer in women in November 2004, which is available on the Department's website at:
	www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/coc/alco04.htm.
	The committee both evaluated all the available published research on the association between alcohol consumption and breast cancer and commissioned some specialist research to aid in reaching a conclusion. The committee concluded that it is prudent to assume that drinking alcoholic beverages may result in breast cancer in women".

Chlamydia

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the progress of the chlamydia 2007 objective; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The White Paper, Choosing Health: Making healthier choices easier", a copy of which is available in the Library, announced an accelerated timetable to achieve national roll out of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) by 2007.
	The NCSP provides opportunistic screening for genital chlamydia infection and is aimed at all sexually active women and men aged between 16 and 24-years-old attending a variety of health and non health care settings in England.
	We have rolled out the screening programme successfully to 25 per cent. of primary care trusts and we expect to see national screening begin in April 2006. This is well ahead of the 2007 target.

Dentistry

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis recently-opened dental practices will be paid under the proposed dental contract; and if she will make special arrangements for recently-opened specialist orthodontist practices where payments are concentrated at the end of the course of treatment.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 19 January 2006
	Where a dental practice has opened since the start of the October 2004—September 2005 reference period, it is for primary care trusts locally to agree an appropriate contract value and a corresponding level for annual services.
	Guidance on agreeing appropriate contract values for specialist orthodontist practices was published in February and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/03/20/04130320.pdf.

Farley's Rusks

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the recent decision of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to withdraw a consignment of Farley's rusks; and how many other products have been withdrawn by the FSA over the last 12 months.

Caroline Flint: Farley's withdrew a consignment of rusks which were contaminated with a pesticide, chlorpropham, at levels which exceeded maximum concentrations set by the Processed Cereal-based Foods and Baby Foods for Infants and Young Children (England) Regulations 2003. The levels found were not a health concern for infants but they were illegal.
	Under European Commission regulations, it is the responsibility of the company concerned to initiate a product withdrawal and notify both their customers and the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Where appropriate, the FSA would then consider issuing a food alert. There were 84 food alerts issued by the FSA from 1 February 2005 until 1 February 2006. 67 of these were food alerts for information and involved product withdrawal. The other 17 were food alerts for action and required the relevant local authority to perform further investigation or enforcement in addition to the withdrawal.

Fiscal Incentives

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her annual lecture to the Faculty of Public Health, delivered on 16 November, if she will make a statement on the effectiveness of using fiscal incentives to change consumer behaviour in order to promote public health.

Caroline Flint: Our thinking on fiscal incentives in order to promote public health is at an early stage. However, we recognise that they can form part of the social marketing approach that can be used to incentivise people to change their behaviour and choose a healthier lifestyle.

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to promote the consumption of more fruit and vegetables.

Caroline Flint: The Department's 5 A DAY programme, school fruit and vegetable scheme (part of the 5 A DAY Programme) and healthy start all promote increased consumption of fruit and vegetables. For example, under the school fruit and vegetable scheme, nearly 2 million four to six-year-olds in local education authority maintained infant, primary and special schools throughout England receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable every school day. Over 550 organisations are licensed to use the 5 A DAY logo and it currently appears on over 700 fruit and vegetable products in shops and restaurants. The new healthy start scheme offers qualifying families vouchers to exchange for fresh fruits and vegetables as well as milk.
	Websites, publicity material and guidance have also been provided to help support people to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption.

Health Action Zones

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of health action zones.

Caroline Flint: In 2000, the Department commissioned an evaluation of the 26 health action zones (HAZ) that were set up in 1998 and 1999. The evaluation included an analysis of how HAZs sought to tackle inequalities in health.
	The findings were published in Health Action Zones: Partnerships for health equity", Barnes et al (2005), London: Routledge, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

Health White Paper

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to launch the high-profile campaign to encourage people to contribute to the drive for a fitter Britain by 2012, described in paragraph 2.99, of the White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say; what resources she plans to provide in support of the campaign; which organisations are designing the campaign; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department will work with partner organisations, including Sport England and the London Olympic Games organising committee, to maximise opportunities for people to take part in recreational and health promoting activities. A high profile campaign will be developed building on the health strategies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Department is working with the Department of Culture Media and Sports to realise the wider health benefits that the United Kingdom can reap from holding the Olympic Games in London and the proposed campaign will fit closely with this work and support the realisation of the Olympic Games health legacy. Funding for development of the campaign will be allocated in due course as part of the normal process for deciding on central programme funding.

Health White Paper

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health where exercise-on-prescription pilots have been carried out as described in paragraph 2.93, of the White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say, what estimate she has made of the costs to the NHS of issuing exercise-on-prescription; and what evidence was used to inform the judgment in paragraph 2.93 of the White Paper that exercise-on-prescription pilots have often been successful.

Caroline Flint: During the Your health, your care, your say" consultation, exercise referral schemes were found to be popular with the public. The Fitness Industry Association estimates that there are over 600 schemes in England.
	A number of studies have looked at exercise on prescription projects. The health technology assessment, Promoting physical activity in South Asian Muslim women through exercise on prescription" published in 2002 estimated that there had been between 150 and 200 exercise on prescription pilots or projects since 1990 and shows that these were often considered to be successful. An evaluation undertaken by the Oxford School for Healthcare Research at Oxford Brookes University identified the positive benefits of two green gym pilot schemes attended by people recommended by health service professionals. The Exercise Referral Systems: National Quality Assurance Framework commissioned by the Department and published in 2001 stated that exercise referral programmes may incur initial higher resource costs, but may be more cost-effective in the longer term if higher risk patients can reduce their risk of morbidity and mortality.
	An assessment of four commonly used methods to increase physical activity in primary care, including exercise referral schemes, is currently being undertaken by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The findings currently out to consultation, are broadly supporting the effectiveness of exercise on referral at increasing physical activity levels in the short-term.

Heroin

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have died from illness related to taking heroin in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 14 February 2006
	Two deaths of children aged under 16 in which heroin has been implicated have been recorded in England during the last five years for which figures are available. The breakdown for each year as requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of deaths 
		
		
			 2000 0 
			 2001 2 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 0 
		
	
	The figures are those reported to St. George's University of London. Figures on deaths in children due to the longer-term consequences of heroin abuse are not available centrally.

Influenza

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to question 15379, on influenza, what assessment she has made of the relationship between the influenza virus and the rise of the angiotensin II chemical in the lung.

Caroline Flint: Following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, it was reported that this infection led to raised levels of angiotensin II in the lungs.
	However, we are not aware of any relationship between a rise of angiotensin II chemical in the lung and influenza virus.

Influenza

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to question 15379, on influenza, what assessment she has made of whether the angiotenism II chemical caused by the body's response to acute respiratory distress syndrome could be triggered by the influenza virus.

Caroline Flint: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is not a specific disease but rather an acute lung dysfunction, a type of lung failure that is associated with a variety of conditions such as pneumonia, shock and trauma. Influenza infection in its most severe form could result in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The production of angiotenism II chemical would be a normal body reaction in such a situation.

Influenza

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to question 15379, on influenza, if the Department will (a) commission and (b) evaluate research on the relationship between (i) angiotensin-blocking drugs used to treat high blood pressure, (ii) angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and (iii) the prevention of acute respiratory disease syndrome.

Caroline Flint: Some preliminary international research in this area has already taken place and has produced some findings that may have implications for the treatment of any disease that generates an immune mediated response leading to lung failure. However, the work is laboratory based, the body of evidence small, and the findings not conclusive. Additional work and scientific scrutiny will be required before any possible impact on clinical practice.

Influenza

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to question 15379, on influenza, on what (a) advice and (b) evidential basis the Department decided that there was no logical basis for examining the effect of blood pressure treatments on influenza.

Caroline Flint: Opinions were sought from members of the flu subgroup of the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI). They were not aware of any current research, specifically involving patients, in this area. However, the JCVI Flu sub-group continue to keep under review any new developments in the treatment of influenza.

Influenza

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the percentage of pensioners who received an NHS influenza injection in 2004–05 who subsequently contracted influenza in that year.

Caroline Flint: Data on the occurrence of influenza-like illness in vaccinated individuals have not been collected, therefore it is not possible to say what proportion of vaccinated individuals in this age group subsequently developed influenza.

Influenza

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents of Wansdyke constituency have received free influenza vaccinations in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: Influenza vaccine uptake data is collected by primary care trusts (PCT), and are not broken down by constituencies. As Bath and North East Somerset PCT commissions health services for Wansdyke, the number of people aged 65 and over, who received their free influenza vaccinations in this PCT, from 2000 is shown in the table. Earlier data is not available as data collection for influenza vaccinations only started in 2000.
	
		
			  Rate of uptake (percentage) 
		
		
			 2000–01 (4)67 
			 2001–02 (4)65 
			 2002–03 70 
			 2003–04 74 
			 2004–05 71 
			 2005–06 (5)74 
		
	
	(4) Data for Somerset health authority. PCTs set up from 2002.
	(5) Provisional 2005–06 data.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her oral statement of 22 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1371–72, on seasonal influenza vaccine supplies, what form the review of the seasonal influenza vaccination programme will take; who will undertake the review; what the time scale for the review will be; and what options for changing the seasonal influenza vaccination programme are being considered.

Caroline Flint: We are in the process of appointing independent assessors to carry out the review. Once complete, the review will submit its recommendations to the Department, which will consider and approve the findings for publication.

MMR Vaccine

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment she has made of the take-up of the MMR vaccine in (a) Hampshire and (b) England; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what percentage of children have received the MMR vaccination in each (a) primary care trust, (b) local authority and (c) electoral ward in Hampshire in each of the last three years.

Caroline Flint: Immunisation data by primary care trust, strategic health authorities and nationally are published annually in the statistical bulletin, NHS Immunisation Statistics, England", copies of which are available in the Library and on the Department's website. Data is not available by local authority or by electoral ward. Data for the last three years is available on the Department's website at:
	2002–03—www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/10/09/04081009.pdf
	2003–04—www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/95/77/04099577.pdf
	2004–05—www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/ll/96/50/04119650.pdf

MSRA

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MSRA cases there were in each hospital in (a) Hampshire and (b) out-of-county hospitals which receive significant numbers of patients from Hampshire in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The best available information is from the mandatory methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections surveillance which started in April 2001 and covers acute trusts in England. The number of reported MRSA blood stream infections for acute trusts within Hampshire is shown in the table. The table also includes the Salisbury Healthcare National Health Service Trust which receives out-of-county patients from Hampshire.
	
		Number of reported blood stream infections (bacteraemias)
		
			 NHS trust April 2002 to March 2003 April 2003 to March 2004 April 2004 to March 2005 
		
		
			 North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust 13 20 13 
			 Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust 16 8 15 
			 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 105 105 95 
			 Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust 53 62 75 
			 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust 13 18 15 
			 Salisbury Healthcare NHS Trust 17 21 13 
		
	
	Source:
	Health Protection Agency

Nutrition/Health Claims

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what communication her Department has had with other EU member states about the process for submitting claims to the community register under the proposed EU regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods; what the outcomes of these discussions were; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Member states are focused on the continuing negotiations more than on the detailed application of future requirements. Nevertheless, officials of the Food Standards Agency will continue informally to engage with representatives to influence a consistent and proportionate approach to compiling lists of specific health claims for submission to the European Commission.

Nutrition/Health Claims

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what appeals mechanism exists for claims which are (a) not accepted on to the community register and (b) prior approved under article 14 of the proposed EU regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods.

Caroline Flint: There is no formal appeals mechanism in the current draft of the proposed European Union regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods.

Nutrition/Health Claims

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her proposals are for the process of submitting claims to the community register under the proposed EU nutrition and health claims made on foods regulation; when her Department will begin the required consultation process; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) will be undertaking this work on behalf of the Government, and has been discussing informally with industry stakeholders the potential criteria for the submission of the United Kingdom input into the future community list of health claims other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk. The FSA expects to consult publicly on its plans in the coming weeks and in good time to meet the deadlines in the regulation, which is still under negotiation.

Obesity

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2005, Official Report, column 1142W, on obesity, what assessment her Department has made of the role of the independent sector, including Slimming World and validated programmes such as slimming on referral in providing effective behaviour change programmes.

Caroline Flint: The White Paper, Choosing health" included the following commitment, later confirmed in the delivery strategy published in March 2005:
	The independent sector may have a key role in providing effective behaviour change programmes in ways that are more acceptable than traditional NHS care to some groups of patients. We will test this as part of a procurement for a 'year of care' for diabetic patients".
	Planning is under way on how to test and evaluate the year of care approach. If successful, the lessons could then be applied to other long-term conditions.
	It is also for primary care trusts, as local commissioners and providers of services, to determine the most appropriate methods to deliver health care to their populations. Decisions are based on clinical need and effectiveness, as well as local circumstance, drawing on the available evidence and resources, including the independent sector. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has been commissioned to prepare definitive guidance on the prevention, identification, management and treatment of obesity due in early 2007.

Obesity

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary school pupils in (a) England, (b) London, (c) the London Borough of Hillingdon and (d) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood have been identified as (i) overweight and (ii) obese in the latest period for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: The data is not available in the format requested. The main source of data on the prevalence of obesity and overweight is the Health Survey for England (HSE). The sample size of the Health Survey does not allow figures to be produced at the level of London boroughs or parliamentary constituencies. For children aged two to 10, national and Government office region (GOR) figures are presented using the national body mass index (BMI) percentile classification.
	The information available is shown in two tables, using the estimated obesity and/or overweight prevalence results of the HSE for 2001, 2002 and 2003. The national level data presented is the most recent available, and shows overweight and obesity prevalence among children. Data at GOR level is only available for obesity prevalence. GOR data provided is the most recent available and use combined information from the 2001 and 2002 surveys.
	
		Overweight and obesity prevalence among children aged two to 10, England, 2001–03 -- Percentage
		
			 Aged 2–10 with valid BMI 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Obese 13.1 15.5 13.7 
			 Overweight including obese 27.9 28.5 27.7 
			 Bases (weighted) aged 2–10 2,129 4,654 1,774 
			 Bases (unweighted) aged 2–10 1,893 3,984 1,733 
		
	
	Note:
	Prevalence based on the United Kingdom national BMI percentile classification.
	Source:
	Obesity among children under 11, 2005 Department of Health and the Health and Social Care Information Centre
	
		Obesity prevalence among children aged two to 10, London GOR, 2001–02
		
			  Obese percentage Bases (weighted) Bases (unweighted) 
		
		
			 Children aged 2–10  with valid BMI 18.2 830 701 
		
	
	Note:
	Prevalence based on the United Kingdom National BMI percentile classification.
	Source:
	Obesity among children under 11, 2005 Department of Health and the Health and Social Care Information Centre

Obesity

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women her Department estimates to be overweight, broken down by ethnic group.

Caroline Flint: The main source of data on the proportion of adults who are overweight broken down by ethnic group is the health survey for England (HSE). The most recent data on the proportion of adults who are overweight, broken down by ethnic group (where possible), comes from the HSE 2004 headline results.
	The available data is shown in the table.
	
		Percentage of adults overweight (BMI over 25 kg/m(7)) by minority ethnic group and general population, England 2004 Aged 16 and over with valid height and weight measurements
		
			  Black Caribbean Black African Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese Irish General Population 
		
		
			 Men (percentage) 67.4 61.8 53.2 55.5 44.4 36.8 67.1 66.5 
			 Women (percentage) 64.5 69.8 55.2 62.3 50.8 24.9 58.0 57.1 
			  
			 Bases (weighted) 
			 Men 380 291 798 336 143 135 1,574 39,244 
			 Women 500 344 921 387 153 136 2,008 39,803 
			 Bases (unweighted) 
			 Men 317 297 482 346 330 307 420 2,444 
			 Women 459 332 546 391 353 308 555 3,135 
		
	
	Source:
	Health Survey for England 2004: The Health of Minority Ethnic Groups—headline tables.

Obesity

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the main health concerns related to obesity.

Caroline Flint: The Department recognises the effect of obesity on disease conditions in children and adults, as shown in summary research evidence reported by the National Audit Office, the World Health Organisation, the Health Select Committee, and the 2003 Health Survey for England. Obesity is an important risk factor for a number of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and type two diabetes. In addition, obese people are more likely to suffer from a number of psychological problems such as low self-image and confidence, social stigma, reduced mobility and a poorer quality of life.

Obesity

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to meet the Government targets to reduce levels of obesity in England.

Caroline Flint: Tackling obesity is a key priority for the Government. In July 2004, a public service agreement target has been set to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children aged under 11 by 2010 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole.
	The Department has a range of ongoing initiatives to tackle obesity in both children and adults. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been commissioned to prepare definitive guidance on the prevention, identification, management and treatment of obesity due in early 2007. Pending NICE guidance, tools are being developed to support the national health service in tackling obesity including an obesity care pathway for both adults and children, a weight loss guide and an obesity toolkit. Guidance on measuring children's height and weight was published on 11 January 2006. An obesity social marketing campaign is being developed to be launched in the autumn of 2006, mainly targeting children and their parents.
	In addition, specific action on diet and physical activity includes healthy start, school food, food in hospitals/prisons/armed forces, work on salt, fat and sugar, promotion of foods especially to children, five a day, local exercise action pilots, football and health, pedometers, and sustainable travel towns.

Parliamentary Questions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to answer the question tabled on 16 January by the hon. Member for Northavon, on dental practices, ref 43373.

Rosie Winterton: A reply was given on the 1 March 2006.

Pesticides

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has accepted the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides in relation to systematic surveillance of chronic diseases linked to pesticide exposure.

Caroline Flint: The Department will be contributing to the Government response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's report, Crop Spraying and the Health of Residents and Bystanders", which is being co-ordinated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	Departmental officials have been discussing with the pesticides safety directorate and the Health Protection Agency issues of common interest with respect to the report. Officials are awaiting advice from the committee on toxicity of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment, which will be considered in addition to the recommendations given by the advisory committee on pesticides before a response is published.

Post-exposure Prophylaxis

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress her Department has made in ensuring every (a) sexual health clinic and (b) accident and emergency unit is able to offer post-exposure prophylaxis to patients; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The development of services for people with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections continues to be undertaken within the context of devolving decisions about the allocation of resources to strategic health authorities and primary care trusts (PCTs). This provides new freedoms and responsibilities for the commissioning and prioritisation of health care to local health bodies that are closest to the people they serve, and best placed to respond to their needs.
	To support them, however, the Department funded The Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health to produce the Recommended Standards for NHS HIV Services", published in 2003. This states that:
	the NHS should make non-occupational PEP available to all who need it and develop protocols for provision".
	These standards were disseminated to PCT sexual health leads in England.
	Improving access to and awareness of post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) also forms part of our broader, national, sexual health policy and HIV prevention work, which targets those most at risk of infection. We have funded the Terrence Higgins Trust to do national awareness-raising of PEP for men who have sex with men, which is the group most at risk of HIV transmission occurring in the United Kingdom.

Prevenar

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health at what price her Department expects to secure Prevenar for the NHS; and what steps have been taken to ensure security of supply.

Caroline Flint: The contract that has been agreed provides for sufficient vaccine for the routine programme and the catch-up and includes penalty clauses to ensure security of supply. The manufacturer is confident that it can provide the necessary quantities of vaccine.

Sexual Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people accessed genito-urinary medicine clinics in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: Data on the number of people accessing genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England are not held centrally. The table shows the number of diagnoses made and other services provided at GUM clinics in England for males and females between 2000 and 2004. The data represent the number of first attendances for each condition or item of service provided in each quarter.
	
		Number of diagnoses and other items of service provided (work load) at genitor-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England by sex: 2000–04
		
			  Male Female Total 
		
		
			 2000
			 Total diagnoses 260,283 309,021 569,304 
			 Total work load 272,499 300,780 573,279 
			 Total 532,782 609,801 1,142,583 
			 
			 2001
			 Total diagnoses 276,971 330,724 607,695 
			 Total work load 323,168 349,994 673,162 
			 Total 600,139 680,718 1,280,857 
			 
			 2002
			 Total diagnoses 294,942 348,738 643,680 
			 Total work load 403,244 427,869 831,113 
			 Total 698,186 776,607 1,474,793 
			 
			 2003
			 Total diagnoses 313,482 359,749 673,231 
			 Total work load 657,583 718,256 1,375,839 
			 Total 971,065 1,078,005 2,049,070 
			 
			 2004
			 Total diagnoses 330,789 367,164 697,953 
			 Total work load 750,358 804,402 1,554,760 
			 Total 1,081,147 1,171,566 2,252,713 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Total diagnoses: only the first diagnosis of a condition is recorded for each patient in every quarter. This category includes all A, B, C and E KC60 codes
	2. Total work load: only the first presentation of a condition is recorded for each patient in every quarter. This category includes all D, P and S KC60 codes
	Source:
	KC60 Returns

Sexual Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the take-up rate has been for the chlamydia screening test pilot scheme launched in 2005 in conjunction with Boots; and how many samples (a) have been returned and (b) tested positive.

Caroline Flint: As of 15 February 2006 the total kits issued is 11,261 with samples returned currently running at 5,267. The number of positive results is 531.

Sexual Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting times for an appointment at a genito-urinary medicine clinic in England were in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005, broken down by primary care trust.

Caroline Flint: Waiting times data for genito-urinary medicine clinics in England in 2004 and 2005 by primary care trust area of residence has been placed in the Library.

Sexual Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2006, Official Report, column 2340W, if she will provide a breakdown of the number of cases of (a) chlamydia, (b) gonorrhoea, (c) syphilis, (d) genital warts and (e) genital herpes diagnosed in genito-urinary medicine clinics in England from 1997 to 2004 by primary care trust area.

Caroline Flint: The available data breaking down the number of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, genital warts and genital herpes has been published on the Health Protection Agency's website at: www.hpa.org. uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/dataresource.htm.
	Data are presented by strategic health authority and are only available from 2000.

Sugar

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated by her Department on the potential dangers to health from the inclusion of sugar in foodstuffs; and if she will list make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department has not commissioned any recent research. A useful summary of relevant research is contained in the article Dietary Effects on Dental Disease" published in volume four of the journal Public Health Nutrition (pages 569–91).
	Although sugars are not directly related to the development of cardiovascular disease or diabetes, increased consumption could increase the intake of food energy. Energy intake in excess of energy expended can lead to obesity. In predisposed people, foods high in sugar could have undesirable metabolic effects such as elevation of blood glucose and insulin concentrations. Furthermore, sugar is the most important cause of tooth decay.

Telecommunications Masts

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether her Department has commissioned follow-up work to the Stewart Report on the health effects of mobile telephone masts;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on Government policy concerning the health effects of 3G base stations.

Caroline Flint: The Stewart Report in 2000 comprehensively reviewed the scientific literature and concluded that
	the balance of evidence to date suggests that exposures below [international] guidelines do not cause health effects to the general population".
	More recently, Mobile Phones and Health 2004", reiterated the Stewart Report's conclusions noting that
	there is a lack of hard information showing that the mobile phone systems in use are damaging to health."
	Both the above reports, however, recommended a precautionary approach to the use of mobile phone technology pending the availability of more robust scientific research results. The reports are available on the Health Protection Agency's radiation protection division's (HPA-RPD) website at www.hpa.org.uk/radiation.
	The HPA-RPD periodically evaluates the worldwide scientific research relating to mobile phone technology and health including that relevant to new and emerging technologies such as third generation (3G) mobile phones. In response to the Stewart Report recommendations, the independently managed Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme is supporting a number of studies into the possible health effects of mobile phone technology in general and these are described on the MTHR website at www.mthr.org.uk. Following the results of Dutch research, in 2003, on 3G base station exposures apparently showing a health effect, the MTHR programme decided to support work at the University of Essex into the symptoms experienced by 3G base station exposures on volunteers. Similar studies of 3G exposures are also being replicated in other countries.
	All mobile phones and base stations in this country comply with international guidelines that are based on comprehensive reviews of the scientific literature. Measurements undertaken by both the HPA and by Ofcom (www.ofcom.org.uk) have consistently shown that exposures to radio signals from base stations, including those from 3G stations, are lower than the international guidelines.

Tuberculosis

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance was issued by her Department to (a) parents, (b) health care professionals and (c) primary care trusts about recent changes for BCG vaccination schedules; and on what dates the guidance was issued;
	(2)  what tuberculosis public awareness initiatives her Department has sponsored since January 2002; and if she will publish the assessment of the impact of the initiatives.

Caroline Flint: holding answers 15 February 2006
	Information resources in support of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunisation programme have been available for many years. Since January 2002 the Department has produced a leaflet in support of the BCG vaccination school campaign, entitled 'A guide to BCG and TB for school years 5–9' and a BCG factsheet. In October 2003, the Department produced a leaflet entitled 'BCG and your baby' to be given to parents when their babies were given BCG vaccine. All of these resources were available free from the Department's publications line and on the www.immunisation.nhs.uk website.
	The Department produced a leaflet, factsheet, poster and information card in support of World Stop TB day in March 2005, working in partnership with the charity TB Alert. These resources were sent to general practitioner surgeries, community pharmacies, NHS Direct and walk-in centres, and tuberculosis (TB) clinics and nurses. The Department also created a web page on www.immunisation.nhs.uk with information on TB.
	The chief medical officer announced changes to the BCG programme via a letter to the medical profession and primary care trusts on 6 July 2005. In support of these changes an updated leaflet, factsheet, and poster were produced and sent directly to the aforementioned groups. All of these resources were aimed at raising awareness of TB, and also informing health professionals and the general public alike, of the changes to BCG policy. All these resources were also made available to order free-of-charge via the Department publications line.
	The 6 July 2005 policy changes also meant that the tuberculin skin test was given in a different way, with the Mantoux test replacing the Heaf test. The Department produced a flip chart and DVD for training purposes. These were made available to order free-of-charge via the Department publications line and sent directly to all TB clinics. Following these changes, the Department held a meeting of immunisation co-ordinators who are responsible for implementation of the BCG programme within their localities. The public information materials were shared with the co-ordinators and their views obtained.
	The Department has also carried out public awareness testing on matters relating to TB and its control, and all information materials on TB and BCG are pre-tested with members of the public.

Tuberculosis

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors underlay the decision to end vaccinations for tuberculosis for children in low-risk areas.

Caroline Flint: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has regularly reviewed the Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination programme. After reviewing all available scientific and epidemiological data the JCVI recommended that it is now time to stop that national schools' based programme in favour of selective vaccination of high-risk infants and other groups.
	Children who would otherwise have been offered BCG vaccination through the schools programme will now be screened, tested and vaccinated if appropriate. It is therefore the responsibility of the primary care trusts to arrange suitable screening opportunities outside of the school setting.

Tuberculosis Inoculation (Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will reverse the decision to stop the tuberculosis inoculation programme for children in Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency.

Caroline Flint: Since the introduction of the Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) schools programme in 1953 the epidemiology of tuberculosis has changed from a disease of the general population to one predominantly affecting high-risk groups. The new recommendations are aimed at delivering an improved targeted risk based programme. The widespread introduction of targeted BCG vaccination means that the majority of children at high risk of tuberculosis will now be vaccinated in early life.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Exports Controls

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts at the G8 on arms exports controls and the case for a binding international treaty.

Kim Howells: In 2005 the G8 Leaders agreed that the
	development of international standards in arms transfers . . . would be an important step toward tackling the undesirable proliferation of conventional arms".
	We are now taking this agenda forward with a number of international partners (including individual G8 members) by building support for an international treaty on the trade in all conventional arms. We will continue this work during 2006 with the aim of securing the start of a formal process at the earliest opportunity.

Guantanamo Bay

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he has made to the recent UN report on the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp.

Kim Howells: The Government have made clear publicly and privately that it regards the circumstances under which detainees continue to be held in Guantanamo as unacceptable, and that the current use of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is an anomaly that should be brought to an end sooner rather than later. We will continue to do so. It is important to remember, however, the circumstances which led to Guantanamo Bay. Nearly 3,000 people were killed during the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001.

International Arms Trade Treaty

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to engage constructively with (a) Russia, (b) the USA, (c) India, (d) Egypt and (e) Israel on the development of an international arms trade treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government are committed to pursuing a treaty on the international trade in all conventional arms. We believe that such a treaty needs to include a wide range of signatories, including the world's major arms exporters. We are engaging with other countries at various levels, including in Ministers' contacts with their counterparts, through specific events, direct expert-level talks and our network of overseas Posts. Most recently a cross-Whitehall team visited Moscow to discuss the initiative with their Russian counterparts. This work will continue, including in further contacts with Russia, and with the USA, India, Egypt and Israel, with the aim of building the consensus needed for the start of a formal process at the UN at the earliest opportunity.

International Arms Trade Treaty

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what cross-departmental discussions have taken place to ensure a co-ordinated and coherent approach towards promoting an international arms trade treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: There is cross-departmental commitment to promoting an international treaty on the trade in all conventional arms. Two cross-departmental working groups, one at working level and one at Director General level, meet regularly to discuss this work. The groups, chaired by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, include representatives of the Department for International Development, Ministry of Defence and Department for Trade and Industry. The senior level group also includes representatives from Cabinet Office. Other Departments will be involved as necessary.

Iraq

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent on armoured civilian vehicles by his Department for operation in Iraq between April 2003 and December 2005; and how many such vehicles were purchased by his Department in that period.

Kim Howells: The total amount spent on armoured civilian vehicles by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for operation in Iraq between April 2003 and December 2005 was £11,637,500. The number of vehicles purchased by the FCO within that period was 133.

Iraq

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost to his Department was of (a) preparing and (b) deploying (i) Civil Service and (ii) non-Civil Service (A) UK and (B) non-UK personnel to Iraq between April 2003 and December 2005; and what the salary costs of personnel in each category were.

Kim Howells: The scope of this question is considerable and would involve officials in research that would be disproportionate to the costs involved in providing an answer.

Kurdish Region

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will visit the Kurdish region of Iraq during the next 12 months.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I maintain regular contacts with political leaders from all communities in Iraq, including the Kurds. During his 20–21 February visit to Iraq, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met, among others, President Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government President Barzani, Foreign Minister Zebari and Planning Minister Saleh. Security considerations preclude me from announcing specific plans for Ministerial travel in advance, but we will continue to visit Iraq in the next year, and to stay in close touch with its political leaders.

Rendition

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has asked the United States authorities how many individuals have been rendered by the US via the UK since 1997.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to him on 6 February 2006, Official Report, columns 784–85W, by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much is expected to be saved as a result of meeting the civil service work force reductions targets for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review; and whether these savings count towards the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the review.

Jack Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) annual savings from reductions in the civil service work force is expected to be £15 million by 31 March 2008. This will count towards the agreed efficiency target for the FCO set out in 2004 Spending Review.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review is to be cashable; and under what budget headings these cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent.

Jack Straw: By 31 March 2008, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) annual efficiency savings will total £86.7 million of which £44.8 million will be cashable. These savings will enable the FCO to operate within the financial budgets set in 2004 Spending Review and to reprioritise its resources, enabling additional expenditure in such areas as combating Afghan Drugs, Counter Terrorism and Engaging the Islamic world.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the target level of employment expressed as full-time equivalents is in his Department by April 2008, in order to meet his Department's civil service work force reductions target set out in the 2004 Spending Review.

Jack Straw: The target level of full-time equivalents and UK based staff in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) by 31 March 2008 is 6,245. This includes increases in the number of staff providing services directly to the public, namely Consular and Entry Clearance, that are fully funded by fees paid by users of those services e.g. through the purchase of visas and UK passports. Demand for these services, and hence the income derived from them, is increasing and this enables the FCO to employ more staff to meet the demand. These increases have been agreed with HM Treasury.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what total efficiency savings were achieved by his Department in 2004–05; and whether these count towards the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review.

Jack Straw: In 2004–05, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office achieved £6.6 million of efficiency savings counting towards the targets set out in the 2004 Spending Review. The agreed target for 2004–05 was £4.7 million.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what baseline figures he is using for assessing progress on his Department's targets to (a) rationalise back office functions, (b) reduce the overall paybill, (c) increase productivity through delivering improved ICT, (d) improve the efficiency of procurement practices, (e) rationalise back office functions, change procurement practices and reduce the overseas estate of the British Council and (f) rationalise back office functions and change procurement practices of the BBC World Service; what progress has been made towards these targets to date; and what the total efficiency savings achieved to date are for these targets.

Jack Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (excluding BBC World Service and British Council) has a number of discrete efficiency projects for each of the business areas mentioned in the question, each of which has its own data sources. Details of the FCO's efficiency projects including baselines are set out in the FCO's Efficiency Technical Note published on our website: http://www.fee.gov.uk/Files/KFile/EfficiencyTechnicalNote_2005.pdf. Overall efficiency targets for 2004–05 were met (£6.6 million against a target of £4.7 million), and the FCO is on track to meet its target of £38.7 million for 2005–06.
	The efficiency targets for the BBC World Service, agreed as part of the 2004 Spending Review, were £5.5 million for 2005–06 and £7.3 million annually for 2006–07 and 2007–08. The target for 2005–06 is forecast to be achieved. Individual savings targets have been identified for 2006–07.
	The British Council has an efficiency target of £13 million to be achieved by the end of 2007–08. These savings are tracked from a baseline of 2004–05. Current plans indicate that savings of £5 million targeted for 2005–06 are on track to be delivered.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bovine TB

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Northern Ireland cattle herds that, when first tested for bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in each year between 2003 and 2005, had animals identified as possible carriers of BTB which were given inconclusive status; and how many such herds had animals proved positive after a second test.

Angela Smith: The number of cattle herds in Northern Ireland that, when first tested for bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in 2003, 2004, and 2005, had animals interpreted as having inconclusive status was 3,849, 4,078 and 3,807 respectively. The number of these herds that had animals deemed positive after a second test was 555 in 2003, 523 in 2004 and 376 in 2005.

Cival Servants (Hospitality)

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what approval and oversight mechanisms are in place for the acceptance of hospitality from the private sector by senior Northern Ireland civil servants.

Angela Smith: The principles on the receipt of hospitality by a NI civil servant, including senior civil servants, which are set out in the Northern Ireland civil service pay and conditions of service code, clearly state that where a civil servant has any doubts about the propriety of accepting gift or benefit, it should be refused.
	Each of the NI Departments and the Northern Ireland Office has departmental hospitality guidelines based on these principles. In addition each Department maintains records for the acceptance of hospitality by all staff, including senior civil servants.
	The guidelines on the receipt of hospitality by NI civil servants are currently under review, including approval and monitoring arrangements. When finalised these guidelines and arrangements will apply consistently across all NI Departments.

Departmental Staff

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any (a) employee of his Department, (b) person engaged by his Department as a consultant and (c) paid advisor to his Department is a Member of the House of Lords; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office do not employ any (a) employees within the Department, (b) persons engaged by the Department as consultants and (c) paid advisors to the Department who is a Member of the House of Lords.

Digital Hearing Aids

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients were awaiting the supply of new digital hearing aids in each of the health and social services board areas on the last date for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: pursuant to the reply, 31 January 2006, Official Report, c. 387W
	I am now able to provide the information.
	The number of people in each of the Health and Social Services Board areas who were waiting for a digital hearing aid to be fitted is shown in the following table. Information is in respect of the position at 30 September 2005 (the latest date for which such information is available across all Board areas).
	
		
			 Health and Social Services Board Number of people waiting for a digital hearing aid to be fitted 
		
		
			 Eastern 1,011 
			 Northern 272 
			 Southern 1,437 
			 Western 552 
			 Northern Ireland total 3,272

Farm Land

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the accuracy of his Department's estimates of the amount of land owned by farmers in the (a) flat and (b) mountain regions of Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Land in NI is categorised under three classifications namely lowland (LL), disadvantaged area (DA) and severely disadvantaged area (SDA). The introduction of DARD's new computerised mapping system, the Geographical Information System (GIS), provides accurate information relating to land parcels in terms of both their location, size and classification. This year the GIS has enabled DARD to compare land classification with the original disadvantaged area map agreed with the EU in the 1980s and amend classifications where these were incorrect.

Illegal Drugs

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been convicted of offences involving the importation and distribution of illegal drugs into Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: The following table provides statistics for calendar years 2000 to 2004 for the number of convictions for importing, distributing and all other drug-related offences. 'Distribution' has been interpreted as supply of controlled drugs and possession with intent to supply. Figures for 2000 and 2003 are not directly comparable to those for 2004 due to the differing data sources and collation methods. Further explanation of this is provided in the footnotes.
	
		Table 1: Convictions for drug related offences 2000–04
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Importing 3 0 0 0 2 
			 Distributing 188 148 109 106 235 
			 Other 458 322 306 392 n/a 
			 Total 649 470 415 498 n/a 
		
	
	n/a=not available.
	Notes:
	1. Figures for 2000–03 are sourced to the Northern Ireland Office and are based on a principal offence rule. Thus only where illegally importing or distributing drugs is the most serious offence tried at a court sitting, will that individual be counted in the above table.
	2. 2004 figures are sourced to the Public Prosecution Service. Figures may include offenders who have been convicted of other more serious offences. However where one offender has been convicted of several offences of illegally importing or distributing drugs as part of the same criminal case, only the most serious of these is recorded.

Lisanelly Barracks

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to consult with the community and stakeholders in Omagh about the future of the Lisanelly Barracks site in Omagh.

Peter Hain: The hon. Gentleman will be aware that, subject to the maintenance of an enabling environment, Lisanelly Barracks will close no later than 1 August 2007 as part of the revised Normalisation Programme.
	Arrangements exist through the Northern Ireland Administration (NIA) to ensure that the MOD is aware of all public sector interest in their sites as they become available. Lisanelly Barracks is freehold and MOD will offer the site at market value to the NIA for first refusal. If it is not required by the NIA, the site will be offered for sale to the wider public sector through a Clearing House, run by the Valuation and Lands Agency, again at market value. If no interest is expressed through these routes the site may, depending on the circumstances, be offered to the former owner. Only after that process would the site be advertised and sold on the open market.
	At this stage it is too early to predict what consultation will take place on the site's future.

Prisoners

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average annual cost of housing (a) female and (b) male prisoners in Northern Ireland has been over the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Prison Service reports the annual cost of housing prisoners in Northern Ireland, as measured by cost per prisoner place. Cost per prisoner place is calculated by dividing service-wide operating costs by the number of staffed prisoner places available for accommodation.
	Until June 2004 female prisoners were housed on the Maghaberry site and since then they have been housed at the Hydebank Wood site. In both locations female prisoners and male offenders have shared common capital, staffing and administration costs.
	The Prison Service does not separately report cost per prisoner place by sex. The average service-wide cost per prisoner place over the last five years was:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2004–05 85,935 
			 2003–04 81,426 
			 2002–03 68,999 
			 2001–02 71,475 
			 2000–01 74,580 
		
	
	Until 2002–03 Government accounting required costs to be recognised on a cash basis. From 2003–04 costs are calculated on a resource basis. With resource accounting introducing capital charges such as depreciation and cost of capital, NIPS cost per prisoner place increased significantly in 2003–04.

Prisons

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost per prison place was in each prison in Northern Ireland in (a) 1995, (b) 2000 and (c) 2005.

Shaun Woodward: The figure for 1994–95 is based on cost per prisoner, as opposed to cost per prisoner place on which the figures for 1999–2000 are based. The cost per prisoner is calculated by dividing the net operating costs by the average number of prisoners. The cost per prisoner place is calculated by dividing the net operating cost by the number of staffed prisoner places. The cost per prisoner for 1994–95 was calculated on a cash basis. Thereafter the cost per prisoner place measurement was established, first on a cash basis (until 2002–03) then on a resource basis.
	The Northern Ireland Prison Service calculates these costs on a service-wide basis so figures are not available for individual establishments. Outturns are as follows:
	
		Cost per prisoner—1994–95
		
			  £ (cash basis) 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland Prison Service 74,447 
		
	
	
		Cost per prisoner place -- £
		
			  1999–2000 (cash) 2004–05 (resource) 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland Prison Service 77,749 85,935

Prosecutions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were convicted of polluting waterways in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The records held by the Environment and Heritage Service of Department of the Environment on convictions for water pollution offences relate to the year in which the offences were committed. Convictions are in some cases against companies rather than people. The number of convictions imposed by the courts to date for incidents over the last ten years are as follows:
	
		
			 Year in which pollution offences occurred  Total number of convictions 
		
		
			 1996 107 
			 1997 75 
			 1998 88 
			 1999 67 
			 2000 60 
			 2001 95 
			 2002 95 
			 2003 (6)107 
			 2004 (7)48 
			 2005 (8)6 
		
	
	(6) Plus 15 cases pending
	(7) Plus 29 cases pending
	(8) Plus 59 cases pending
	The totals in the table relate to outcomes where either a fine, a conditional discharge or an absolute discharge was imposed. All are convictions.

Racial Hostility Offences

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many penalties for offences motivated by hostility towards a person's race have been increased since the Criminal Justice (No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 made provisions for increased penalties.

David Hanson: The information is currently not systematically recorded as requested. Court sentences are logged as substantively as finally pronounced in court without the impact of all of the aggravating and mitigating factors that may have had a bearing on individual disposals. However, the Government will be working with enforcement and prosecution authorities to explore how a mechanism could be put in place to collect this information.

Recyled Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of paper used in printed publications in each of the last 10 years by each Department in Northern Ireland was from recycled sources.

Angela Smith: The information sought by the hon. Member could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Each Northern Ireland Department is aware that communicating effectively with target audiences through printed publications must be balanced with the need to ensure that minimum levels of wastage are incurred, including the use of recycled paper. Officials in the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister are currently conducting a review of practice across Departments, since October 2005, on the printing and distribution of Government publications to ensure that appropriate measures are being taken to ensure value for money.

Road Tolls

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he plans to implement toll payments for road usage in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Maclcolm McKibbin, dated 28 February 2006
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about whether there are plans to implement toll payments for road usage in Northern Ireland.
	As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	You may be aware that the Regional Transportation Strategy (RTS) for NI 2002–12, whose strategic direction and underlying principles were endorsed by the Assembly in July 2002, contains no proposals to introduce road tolling in Northern Ireland. This position remains, however, the RTS did contain a commitment to monitor the impacts of fiscal demand management measures, such as congestion charging. This is reflected in both the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan and the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan, launched by the Minister in November 2004 and March 2005 respectively, where commitments are given to review this position, in the light of experience in other parts of the UK, during the period of the Plans.
	Roads Service is continuing to monitor developments in the use of road user charging in Great Britain. In the last two years, for example, officials have been actively involved in the development of the Department for Transport's (DfT) Road Pricing Feasibility Study and in the out workings of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' Lorry Road User Charging proposals.
	The DfT Road Pricing Feasibility Study recommended that a series of pilot local, or regional, road pricing schemes as the best way to test the various approaches to congestion charging. The DfT's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) will be the basis for pump priming such schemes in England. We will wait with interest to see what sort of schemes may evolve from the TIF.
	You may be aware that the Secretary of State, in his speech to the Fabian Society on 31 January 2006, stated
	I will . . . be ensuring that Northern Ireland is fully signed up to the work being done in other parts of the UK on congestion charging and road pricing to help tackle congestion and reduce traffic pollution."
	Roads Service is continuing to engage with the Department for Transport and the County Surveyors' Society to ensure this commitment is addressed.
	I hope this information is helpful

Schools

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) enrolment numbers and (b) number of unfilled places are in each (i) Irish medium school and (ii) integrated school in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The following tables show the enrolment number and number of unfilled places for each school in the Irish Medium and integrated sectors.
	
		Irish Medium Schools
		
			 School ref. School name Approved enrolment number Unfilled places 
		
		
			 1016647 Bunscoil Mhic Reachtain 87 34 
			 1046501 Bunscoil Phobal Feirste 290 11 
			 1046571 Gaelscoil na Bhfal 290 99 
			 1046593 Bunscoil an Tsleibhe Dhuibh 203 42 
			 1046596 Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain 174 36 
			 1046641 Scoil an Droichid 97 15 
			 1046654 Daelscoil an Damba 48 21 
			 1046671 Gaelscoil na Mona 58 14 
			 1046672 Gaelscoil an Lonnain 71 35 
			 2036574 Bunscoil Cholmcille 243 97 
			 2046638 Gaelscoil ui Dhocartaigh 130 11 
			 2046646 Gaelscoil Eadain Mhoir 145 29 
			 2046669 Bunscoil an Traonaigh 29 11 
			 3046653 Bunscoil an Chastil 58 0 
			 4046600 Scoil na Fuiseoige 156 19 
			 4046648 Bunscoil Bheanna Boirche 87 37 
			 5046597 Bunscoil an Iuir 100 24 
			 5046637 Gaelscoil ui Neill 116 13 
			 1240291 Colaiste Feirste 475 6 
			   2,857 554 
		
	
	
		Integrated schools
		
			 School ref. School name Approved enrolment number Unfilled places Status 
		
		
			 1056535 Forge Integrated PS 250 52 CI* 
			 2052035 Groarty Integrated PS 63 21 CI-T 
			 3050519 Carnlough Controlled Integrated PS 62 23 CI-T 
			 3050791 Glengormley Integrated PS 446 314 CI-T 
			 3052071 Carhill Integrated PS 94 53 CI-T 
			 3056231 Rathenraw Integrated PS 223 125 CI-T 
			 3056248 Roundtower Integrated PS 276 123 CI-T 
			 4050618 Hilden Integrated PS 126 71 CI-T 
			 4051569 Kircubbin PS 152 45 CI-T 
			 4051601 Portaferry Integrated PS 101 20 CI-T 
			 4051680 Bangor Central PS 527 3 CI-T 
			 4053009 Annsborough PS 85 40 CI-T 
			 4053020 Glencraig PS 252 45 CI-T 
			 4056541 All Children's Integrated PS 203 7 CI* 
			 5056013 Kilbroney Integrated PS 111 18 CI-T 
			 1066531 Hazelwood PS 406 11 GMI 
			 1066580 Cranmore Integrated PS 203 17 GMI 
			 2066549 Enniskillen Integrated PS 244 39 GMI 
			 2066552 Omagh Integrated PS 224 0 GMI 
			 2066558 Oakgrove Integrated PS 400 23 GMI 
			 2066665 Roevalley Integrated SP 40 0 GMI 
			 3066544 Millstrand SP 232 76 GMI 
			 3066551 Braidside Integrated PS 319 3 GMI 
			 3066561 Corran Integrated PS 203 46 GMI 
			 3066568 Acorn Integrated PS 203 0 GMI 
			 3066613 Spires Integrated PS 203 16 GMI 
			 3066652 Maine Integrated PS 48 8 GMI 
			 4066579 Loughview Integrated PS 388 20 GMI 
			 4066588 Cedar Integrated PS 196 8 GMI 
			 4066611 Oakwood Integrated PS 203 16 GMI 
			 4066644 Millennium Integrated PS 174 62 GMI 
			 4066668 Drumlins Integrated Primary School 29 8 GMI 
			 5066540 Bridge Integrated PS 406 2 GMI 
			 5066553 Portadown Integrated PS 203 18 GMI 
			 5066554 Windmill Integrated PS 194 0 GMI 
			 5066578 Saints and Scholars Int PS 261 22 GMI 
			 5066657 Phoenix Integrated Primary School 58 18 GMI 
			 4250024 Priory College 450 0 CI-T 
			 4250072 Fort Hill College 850 14 CI-T 
			 4250272 Down Academy 300 101 CI-T 
			 5250216 Brownlow Int College 450 52 CI-T 
			 1260269 Hazelwood College 740 0 GMI 
			 1260294 Malone Integrated College 800 32 GMI 
			 2260280 Erne Integrated College 400 51 GMI 
			 2260283 Drumragh College 600 123 GMI 
			 3260289 Slemish College 690 2 GMI 
			 2260276 Oakgrove Integrated College 800 2 GMI 
			 3260290 North Coast Integrated College 500 9 GMI 
			 3260299 Ulidia Integrated College 500 0 GMI 
			 3260303 Sperrin Integrated College 320 65 GMI 
			 4260255 Lagan College 1,080 0 GMI 
			 4260281 Shimna Integrated College 480 0 GMI 
			 4260295 Strangford Integrated College 500 61 GMI 
			 5260285 New-Bridge Integrated College 500 8 GMI 
			 5260286 Integrated College Dungannon 500 65 GMI 
			 5260307 Armagh Integrated College 120 20 GMI 
			   18,388 1,978  
		
	
	CI*—Established as Controlled Integrated School
	CI-T—Transformed Controlled Integrated School
	GMI—Established as Grant Maintained Integrated School

Schools

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been allocated for the development of curriculum materials for (a) Irish medium schools and (b) integrated schools by the Department of Education in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: (a) The Department of Education provided funding for the development of Irish medium curricular materials on an annual basis up to 1999–2000.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1995–96 31,000 
			 1996–97 34,000 
			 1997–98 33,000 
			 1998–99 120,000 
			 1999–2000 235,000 
		
	
	For subsequent years, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure provided funding to Foras na Gaeilge, the Irish Language Agency who have a statutory remit to promote the Irish language and who develop Irish curriculum materials. Information is not readily available to assess how much of this was spent on the development of curricular materials.
	The Department of Education made one-off allocations for Irish medium curriculum materials of £86,000 in 2003–04 and £67,000 in 2005–06.
	Under Common Funding for schools from April 2005, allocations to Irish-medium Post-primary schools and Units includes 25 per pupil to support the development of curricular materials. In 2005–06 this funding totalled £13,100. For primary Irish-medium schools and Units, a per pupil element of £100 is included in the formula allocations. However this level of funding reflects that these schools are required to teach English as an additional curricular requirement at Key Stage 2. It is not therefore possible to disaggregate the totality of funding provided to these schools for curricular materials development.
	(b) Nil. Integrated schools do not receive specific funding for the development of curricular materials.

Telecommunications Masts

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the merits of a holistic planning overview of planned and scheduled planning applications for telecommunications masts in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Prevailing planning policy, which is set out in Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 10 'Telecommunications', attaches considerable importance to keeping the numbers of radio and telecommunications masts, and the sites for such installations, to a minimum, consistent with the efficient operation of the network. Therefore it has not been considered necessary to conduct a holistic planning overview of planned and scheduled planning applications for telecommunication masts.

Toxic Sludge

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the level of illicit dumping of toxic sludge along the border with the Republic of Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) investigates all reports of unauthorised waste disposal in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. EHS has not identified, on the basis of these investigations, a widespread problem of illegal disposal of toxic sludge along the border with the Republic of Ireland. There is currently one active investigation into a County Armagh site close to the border. Prosecution files have been prepared regarding two additional sites at which sludge wastes from the Republic of Ireland were deposited. Residues arising from illegal diesel laundering operations are dealt with by local government, or other statutory agencies such PSNI or HM Revenue and Customs. EHS records indicate that 170 tonnes of illegal fuel laundering waste were re-consigned for authorised disposal since January 2003. Most originated from the Armagh, and Newry and Mourne council areas.

Toxic Sludge

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the environmental implications of toxic sludge being dumped on agricultural land.

Angela Smith: The Waste Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 permit the spreading of certain commercial sludges on agricultural land, providing that activity results in benefit to agriculture. These activities are assessed and authorised by the Waste Management and Contaminated Land Unit, of the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) and would not be permitted if there were deemed to be a risk of adverse environmental impact. Any unauthorised disposal of commercial sludge causing environmental damage would be investigated with a view to prosecution. EHS is not aware of a wide-spread problem in this respect, although prosecution files are being prepared regarding four incidents.

Toxic Sludge

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the disposal of toxic waste dumped on roads in Northern Ireland has cost in each of the last three years, broken down by constituency.

Angela Smith: The Environment and Heritage Service does not have a statutory duty to remove waste from public roads, and therefore, does not hold information specifically on costs arising from such waste disposal. Such work is carried out by the Department for Regional Development's Roads Service, or, if relating to material in lay-bys or the roadside, by the relevant district council or their contractors.
	The Department of the Environment will need to obtain information from Roads Service and each of the 26 district councils. It is expected that it will take several weeks to obtain and collate this information and I shall write to the hon. Gentleman when this has been completed. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Waste Management

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Republic of Ireland regarding illegal dumping in Northern Ireland of waste from the Republic of Ireland.

Angela Smith: Discussions on illegal cross-border waste are focused at ministerial and official level.
	I met with Ministers Cullen and Roche during my time as Environment Minister and had detailed discussions on a number of waste issues.
	As a result of these meetings, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland set up two cross-border working groups covering unauthorised waste activities and the transfrontier shipment of wastes. These seek to stem the flow of unauthorised waste across the border into Northern Ireland through co-ordinated and consistent enforcement. The groups complement each other and have helped to co-ordinate the work of the relevant regulatory bodies in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

Waste Management

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the (a) total amount and (b) average amount per household of domestic waste produced in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The Department of the Environment does not hold data prior to 1998. The following table covers the period from 1998 to date, and sets out the total amount of household waste and the average collected. The latter figure incorporates all waste removed from households, including recyclables.
	Some surveys were conducted by calendar years, and others by financial. Future surveys will be undertaken by financial year.
	The overall household recycling rate in Northern Ireland has grown from 10 per cent. in 2002 to 18.9 per cent. in 2004–05.
	
		
			  Total household waste (million tonnes) Average household waste collected per household (tonnes/year) 
		
		
			 1998–99 0.866 1.45 
			 1999–2000 0.831 1.38 
			 2001 0.878 1.42 
			 2002 0.902 1.40 
			 2003 0.898 1.37 
			 2004–05 0.919 1.36

Waste Management

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much each district council has received to date via waste management grants.

Angela Smith: The following table shows the composite of all waste management grants paid to district councils to date since grant aid commenced in 2001.
	The bulk of grant aid has been paid through the Waste Management Grant Scheme (WMGS). In addition, grant aid has been provided to support schools recycling initiatives along with support for the disposal of fridges and end of life vehicles.
	The figure excludes grant aid committed to councils that has not yet been drawn down.
	Direct payments to arc21, the waste management group for the eastern region are shown separately, as up to March 2005 contributions from its 11 participating members were paid directly by the Department from their WMGS allocation.
	
		
			 Council Total 
		
		
			 Antrim 1,082,008 
			 Ards 1,106,553 
			 Armagh 1,051,862 
			 Ballymena 1,174,423 
			 Ballymoney 512,018 
			 Banbridge 806,487 
			 Belfast 4,367,124 
			 Carrickfergus 657,071 
			 Castlereagh 1,022,274 
			 Coleraine 1,078,301 
			 Cookstown 560,534 
			 Craigavon 949,776 
			 Derry 1,819,553 
			 Down 1,220,248 
			 Dungannon 841,995 
			 Fermanagh 885,498 
			 Larne 690,719 
			 Limavady 634,659 
			 Lisburn 1,614,206 
			 Magherafelt 839,003 
			 Moyle 384,288 
			 Newtownabbey 1,267,413 
			 Newry/Mourne 1,377,875 
			 North Down 997,927 
			 Omagh 785,564 
			 Strabane 818,020 
			 arc21 524,411 
			 Total 29,069,810

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to fund publicity campaigns encouraging the take-up of broadband in (a) East Sussex and (b) England.

Alun Michael: holding answer 17 October 2005
	I have been asked to reply.
	DTI and DEFRA produced a CD-ROM A New Way to Live, Work and Play" last year. It contains hundreds of stories and examples of the benefits people around the UK have gained from broadband. The CD-ROM was sent to parish councils, rural community councils, regional development agencies, devolved administrations, intermediary organisations and other interested parties. The material is also available via the DTI website. There has also been regional activity around the UK promoting broadband and take-up.
	A new initiative from the Cabinet Office was launched in autumn 2005 to give users confidence using the Internet, under the title Get Safe Online".
	Within East Sussex, Broadband East Sussex" has been funded by Government and involves Access East Sussex, BT, The Education Authority, The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Sussex Enterprise, East Sussex Economic Partnership and the Learning and Skills Council.
	Broadband coverage for the South East region stands at 99.9 percent. Coverage for the UK stands at 98.8 per cent.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Councillors (Pensions/Income)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 1964–1965W, on councillors (pensions/income), on what date the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions issued the press release on the proposals for consultation on pensions for councillors.

Phil Woolas: The press release consultation covering documents on allowances and pensions for councillors was published on 12 September 2001. A further consultation on proposed amendments to the Local Government Pension Scheme was carried out on 23 December 2002 following the Government's response to the Transport, Local Government and Regional Affairs Select Committee's Report on 'How the Local Government Act 2000 is Working' (Command Paper 5687).

Student Accommodation

Tim Farron: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the number of students living in accommodation provided by (a) registered social landlords and (b) universities in 2005–06.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	For (a) Based on figures from the three most recent Survey(s) of English Housing (for 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05) it is estimated that there were, on average over the three year period, 140,000 full-time students living in Registered Social Landlord (RSL) accommodation. This total comprises 75,000 students aged 16–18 and 65,000 aged 19 or more. These figures include students at school who were living at home in their parents' RSL accommodation.
	For (b) the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that, in 2004–05, around 193,000 students on full-time undergraduate courses were living in accommodation described as Institution maintained properties".

Traffic Enforcement Staff

Tom Brake: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) traffic enforcement officers, (b) traffic wardens and (c) council parking attendants have been operating in each police authority area in each year since 2002–03.

Paul Goggins: I have been asked to reply.
	The available statistics are given in the table. Information on council parking attendants is not collected centrally.
	Police officers 'traffic' function includes staff who are predominantly employed on motor-cycles or in patrol vehicles for the policing of traffic and motorway related duties. This includes officers employed in accident investigation, vehicle examination and radar duties. This also includes staff who are predominantly employed to support the traffic function of the force including radar, accident investigation, vehicle examination and traffic administration. Also included are those officers working with hazardous chemicals and those administrative staff predominantly serving the internal needs of the traffic function of the force and those officers/staff in supporting roles.
	
		Traffic Wardens(9) by police force area—2003 to 2005 -- Full-time equivalent(10)
		
			  As at 31 March 
			 Force 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 43 34 0 
			 Bedfordshire 2 2 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 35 17 0 
			 Cheshire 19 15 17 
			 Cleveland 7 8 0 
			 Cumbria 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 48 43 25 
			 Devon and Cornwall 103 102 96 
			 Dorset 0 0 0 
			 Durham 15 4 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 13 10 10 
			 Essex 38 21 8 
			 Gloucestershire 31 21 16 
			 Greater Manchester 88 88 90 
			 Gwent 27 25 21 
			 Hampshire 25 23 16 
			 Hertfordshire 38 9 0 
			 Humberside 48 46 45 
			 Kent 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire 50 17 2 
			 Leicestershire 61 51 26 
			 Lincolnshire 21 18 20 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 52 43 10 
			 Metropolitan police 687 505 449 
			 Norfolk 33 31 28 
			 Northamptonshire 7 5 4 
			 Northumbria 59 56 51 
			 North Wales 7 5 4 
			 North Yorkshire 0 10 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 29 33 12 
			 South Wales 99 92 82 
			 South Yorkshire 68 37 18 
			 Staffordshire 10 1 0 
			 Suffolk 25 25 20 
			 Surrey 17 8 5 
			 Sussex 61 67 62 
			 Thames Valley 42 36 24 
			 Warwickshire 9 8 4 
			 West Mercia 15 13 9 
			 West Midlands 74 72 66 
			 West Yorkshire 98 85 42 
			 Wiltshire 7 5 1 
			 Total 2,108 1,688 1,281 
		
	
	(9) Many forces have transferred responsibility for parking controls to the respective district/unitary authority, which has resulted in some forces not having any traffic wardens by March 2005.
	(10) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. Full-time equivalent figures includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.
	
		Police officers whose main function is Traffic"(11) by police force area—2003 to 2005 -- Full-time equivalent(12)
		
			  As at 31 March 
			  2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 216 222 228 
			 Bedfordshire 75 80 80 
			 Cambridgeshire 85 99 101 
			 Cheshire 194 200 194 
			 Cleveland(13) 64 73 2 
			 Cumbria 107 110 108 
			 Derbyshire 107 121 116 
			 Devon and Cornwall 192 198 211 
			 Dorset 91 86 82 
			 Durham 111 119 108 
			 Dyfed Powys 136 105 141 
			 Essex(13) 241 242 243 
			 Gloucestershire 62 66 67 
			 Greater Manchester 406 392 359 
			 Gwent 93 95 96 
			 Hampshire 248 246 244 
			 Hertfordshire(13) 150 151 149 
			 Humberside 123 119 225 
			 Kent(13) 104 — 122 
			 Lancashire(13) 198 187 190 
			 Leicestershire(13) 92 95 85 
			 Lincolnshire 90 89 96 
			 London, City of(13) 24 24 28 
			 Merseyside 125 119 115 
			 Metropolitan police 583 592 1,029 
			 Norfolk 120 121 107 
			 Northamptonshire 70 71 65 
			 Northumbria 245 253 165 
			 North Wales(13) 115 114 76 
			 North Yorkshire 151 138 101 
			 Nottinghamshire(13) 26 121 133 
			 South Wales 243 245 243 
			 South Yorkshire 180 127 134 
			 Staffordshire(13) 50 49 58 
			 Suffolk(13) 68 72 76 
			 Surrey(13) 108 110 107 
			 Sussex 164 163 163 
			 Thames Valley 259 259 245 
			 Warwickshire 103 103 93 
			 West Mercia(13) 292 115 117 
			 West Midlands 384 405 393 
			 West Yorkshire 320 314 317 
			 Wiltshire 91 96 93 
			 Total 6,902 6,706 7,104 
		
	
	(11) Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for individual chief constables.
	(12) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between the totals in this table and totals in similar published tables. Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.
	(13) Data quality may be an issue with this force. Kent did not provide data for 2003–04.

Urban Task Force 2005

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what response he has made to Lord Rogers's 2005 Urban Task Force's observations in relation to (a) the Thames Gateway regeneration scheme governance and (b) the Government's regeneration programme.

Yvette Cooper: On 22 November 2005 the Urban Task Force, chaired by Lord Rogers, launched its report Towards a Strong Urban Renaissance" reviewing progress to date on delivering the original task force vision set out in 1999 in its previous report Towards an Urban Renaissance". It is an independent report based on the personal experience of the Urban Task Force members on the ground, designed to stimulate public debate and encourage new thinking".
	This new report acknowledges that there have been some notable successes, and that English cities are very different places from the post-industrial centres of unemployment and failing public services of 20 years ago. The report also identifies challenges to the continuation of the urban renaissance and provides recommendations on steps necessary to strengthen the progress already made.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has welcomed the task force's new report as a useful contribution to our ongoing work on urban design and the cities and regional policy agenda, and will take full account of the report's recommendations in the context of other research and analysis undertaken by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and elsewhere. For maximum effectiveness any new approaches must also be integrated with policy developments emerging from, for example, the December 2005 EU Ministerial informal, the Government response to Kate Barker's review of Housing Supply and the consultation on the draft PPS3 document and the Code for Sustainable Homes.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Central Court of Appeal

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many appeals have been heard at the Central Court of Appeal in each year since 1997; and how many times (a) three and (b) two judges sat in each year to hear such cases.

Harriet Harman: The following table shows the number of appeals against conviction and sentence 1 heard by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division in each year since 1997. Figures are not available showing the number of times that the court has sat since 1997 in constitutions of two and three judges, except at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Number of appeals heard(14) 
		
		
			 1997 8,730 
			 1998 8,471 
			 1999 7,720 
			 2000 7,348 
			 2001 6,609 
			 2002 7,310 
			 2003 7,003 
			 2004 6,909 
			 2005 6,106 
		
	
	(14) Excludes all other hearings e.g. applications for leave to appeal.

Departmental Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the consultancy firms which have been employed by her Department since its formation.

Bridget Prentice: My Department was formed in June 2003. A list of the consultancy firms that provided services in 2003–04 and 2004–05 is set out as follows.
	Information on current consultancy contracts is not held centrally but is collected annually at financial year-end and could be provided at this time only at disproportionate cost.
	Companies used by DCA/Court Service for provision of Consultancy 2004–05
	Adult Learning Inspectorate
	Alexander Cameron Ltd.
	Anagram
	Analogue
	Ask Europe plc
	Assessment and Development Consultancy
	BTA Consulting
	BTF Associates
	Capita Resourcing
	Chesterton
	CIMTECH
	Communication Engagement and Change Ltd.
	Computer Sciences Corporation
	Cornwell Management Consultants
	Craigforth
	Deloitte MCS Ltd.
	Dennis Battle Associates
	Design Systems Technology Ltd.
	Digital Public
	DTZ Debenhan Tie Leung
	Elborough Consulting /TSO Consulting
	Enodlan Ltd.
	Ernst and Young LLP
	Gartner UK Ltd.
	GIC Ltd.
	Haygarth Group
	Hedra
	Norwood Safety Ltd.
	Hudson Global Resources
	Human Assets Ltd.
	Hurd Rolland
	Ilogic Ventures
	Insight Consulting Ltd.
	IPPR Consulting Ltd.
	Issan Ghazni Partnership
	JMH Consultancy
	KPMG
	Largos Ltd.
	Lexicon Ltd.
	Logica CMC UK Ltd.
	Maltland Consultancy
	Mandurai Ltd.
	Methods Consulting
	MORI
	Mouchel Consulting Ltd.
	NCC Services Ltd.
	ORC International
	PA
	Parity Resources
	Penna
	PricewaterhouseCoopers
	Punter Southall
	Rick Evans Ltd.
	Synopsis Communication Consulting Ltd.
	The Ingram Partnership
	Towers Perrin
	Tribal MPC
	UCL Consultants
	Venn Group Ltd.
	VP Treen and Associates
	Watson Associates
	Wheelers
	Companies used by DCA/Court Service for provision of consultancy 2003–04
	Alexander Cameron Ltd.
	AMTEC
	Anagram
	Andrew Gibson Consulting
	Ark Consulting
	Ashton Penney
	Atkins Asset Management
	BMI Health Services
	Butcher Doulton Communications
	Cap Gemini
	CGMS Consulting
	CMAS
	Deloitte
	Deloitte and Touche
	Enodian Consultancy
	Fresh Minds
	Frontline Consultancy
	Gartner UK Ltd.
	Global Solutions
	GVA Grimley
	Hedra
	HM Associates
	Norwood Safety Ltd.
	Human Assets
	Insight Consulting
	Integral
	Inventures
	Issan Ghazi Partnership
	Janet Rubin Human Resources
	JMU Access Partnership
	KMC International
	Lan2Lan
	Liberate
	Logica CMG UK Ltd.
	Logsys
	Luther Pendragon
	MORI
	Moulton Hall
	Near Glow
	ORC
	PA Consulting
	Pavllllon Publishing
	Penna Change Consultancy
	PKF
	PriceWaterhouseCoopers
	The Henley Centre
	Public Partners
	Retail Maxim Ltd.
	Sapphire International
	Sector UK
	SERCO
	SGS UK Ltd.
	STC Energy Management
	Sue Steel Associates
	Towers Perrin
	TSO Consulting
	VP Treen and Associates
	White Young and Green
	WS Atkins
	Xansa
	Yale Consulting

Legal Aid

Peter Robinson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs in how many cases funded by legal aid the claimant won their case in court in each of the last 10 years.

Bridget Prentice: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Voting Rights

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the rationale is for allowing those patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 who are eligible to vote under the Representation of the People Act 2000 to vote by post or proxy but not in person at a polling station.

Harriet Harman: The 2000 Act extended voting rights in relation to such persons. Previously they could not register to vote from a mental hospital. The current provisions, implemented under the Representation of the People Act 2000, do restrict a person liable to be detained under section 7 of the RPA 1983, to voting by post or proxy.
	The good reasons in support of the current provisions include for example, whether there would be a question as to whether it would be appropriate for any particular patient at the time of an election to be given leave from hospital to vote at a polling station.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefits

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2006, Official Report, column 1458W, on benefits, whether departmental staff other than those in the Jobcentre Plus division make home visits to benefit (a) claimants and (b) recipients; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: As set out in the reply to my hon. Friend's question on 9 February 2006, Official Report, columns 1458–59W, home visits are carried out by Jobcentre Plus and the Pension Service. The Disability and Carer Service also commissions home visits but these are carried out for them by Jobcentre Plus and the Pension Service, in accordance with a Partnership Agreement between the two services.

Benefits

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was budgeted for council tax benefit in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales each year since 1991–92; and what forecasts have been made for future years.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		Council tax benefit by country -- £ million (Nominal terms)
		
			  England Wales Scotland Total 
		
		
			 1997–98(15) 1,988 97 241 2,326 
			 1998–99(15) 2,150 110 298 2,557 
			 1999–2000(15) 2,175 110 277 2,561 
			 2000–01(15) 2,198 118 334 2,650 
			 2001–02(15) 2,356 128 347 2,831 
			 2002–03(15) 2,530 139 356 3,026 
			 2003–04(15) 2,883 154 350 3,387 
			 2004–05(15) 3,095 165 370 3,629 
			 2005–06(15) 3,199 178 410 3,786 
			 2006–07(16) 3,503 191 412 4,106 
			 2007–08(16) 3,801 213 447 4,461 
		
	
	
		Council tax benefit by country -- £ million (Real terms, 2005–06 prices)
		
			  England Wales Scotland Total 
		
		
			 1997–98(15) 2,391 117 289 2,797 
			 1998–99(15) 2,521 128 349 2,999 
			 1999–2000(15) 2,500 127 318 2,945 
			 2000–01(15) 2,495 134 379 3,007 
			 2001–02(15) 2,608 142 384 3,134 
			 2002–03(15) 2,716 150 382 3,248 
			 2003–04(15) 3,015 161 366 3,541 
			 2004–05(15) 3,168 169 378 3,715 
			 2005–06(15) 3,199 178 410 3,786 
			 2006–07(16) 3,419 186 402 4,007 
			 2007–08(16) 3,614 202 425 4,241 
		
	
	(15) Estimate.
	(16) Forecast.
	Notes:
	1. Expenditure by country has been taken from information held in spreadsheet form by the Department for Work and Pensions, available from 1997–98.The information is not available for years 1991–92 to 1996–97.
	2. The country figures are consistent with the total council tax benefit for Great Britain. They are an estimate of money which will be spent in each financial year which was shown in departmental reports after each Budget, except for 1997–98 when the Budget was on 2 of July 1997 (see note 3.). The figures shown are not actual expenditure. Expenditure is available on the DWP internet site.
	3. The 2006–07 and 2007–08 figures are forecast and consistent with the pre-Budget report 2005.
	Source:
	Departmental reports and underlying data, and benefit expenditure tables.

Benefits

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate the Government has made of the mortality rate of existing incapacity benefit claimants in each year up to 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department does not explicitly make projections about the mortality rate of existing incapacity claimants.
	However, we do have historical information on those leaving incapacity benefit due to death; in the year to February 2005, the number was 28,100.

Benefits

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate the Government has made of the number of existing incapacity benefit claimants who will reach state retirement age in each year up to 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Information is not available in the format requested. The number of those currently claiming incapacity benefit who could reach state retirement age in each year to 2016 is in the table.
	
		People claiming incapacity benefit as at 31 August 2005 who could reach state retirement age in each year to 2016
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2006 115,800 
			 2007 118,200 
			 2008 110,100 
			 2009 105,000 
			 2010 79,400 
			 2011 77,800 
			 2012 79,200 
			 2013 68,300 
			 2014 65,100 
			 2015 60,200 
			 2016 57,700 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. 'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit (IB) claimants, including IB credits only cases.
	3. Figures do not include severe disablement allowance (SDA) as claimants can remain entitled to SDA past state retirement age.
	4. These figures take no account of claimants who may flow on or off the benefit in the future.
	5. A woman born before 6 April 1950 attains pension age when she reaches the age of 60. For women born between 6 April 1950 and April 1955 'Equalisation rules' have been applied to gradually raise the pension age. A Woman born after 5 April 1955 attains pension age when she reaches the age of 65.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study l00 per cent. data.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether provision will be made for pensioners who receive Financial Assistance Scheme payments to receive increases (a) as they get older and (b) to take account of the cost of living increases.

Stephen Timms: Payments will not increase with age nor be index-linked. This allows the available funds to be spread more widely and benefit more people.

Post Office Closures

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many branches of the Post Office there were in the county of Bedfordshire in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
	This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Alan Cook the Managing Director has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Statutory Sick Pay

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many own occupation tests were conducted pursuant to the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 1999 in relation to those claiming statutory sick pay in each of the last three years.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the table.
	
		Own occupation tests completed for statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2003 79 
			 2004 123 
			 2005 88

Sure Start

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list visits made by Ministers in his Department to Sure Start schemes and facilities in each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales in the 12 months to 5 May 2005; what was the cost to public funds of each visit; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: I can confirm that there have been no visits made by any of my Ministers to Sure Start schemes or facilities in England or Wales in the 12 months to 5 May 2005.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol-related Prosecutions

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought for (a) sales of alcohol to under age children under the Licensing Act 2003 and (b) crime and disorder associated with pubs and clubs in West Lancashire since November 2005.

Hazel Blears: The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005. Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006.
	Penalty notices for disorder may be issued for nine Licensing Act 2003 offences. Provisional figures for notices issued since November 2005 will be available in March 2006.

Alcohol-related Prosecutions

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were found guilty of (a) drunken and disorderly behaviour and (b) drunken and aggravated disorderly behaviour in (i) England and (ii) West Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of offenders found guilty for drunkenness and drunkenness with aggravation in Lancashire po1ice force area and England 1997–2004 are given in the table. It is not possible to identify those convicted in West Lancashire, as the data are not collected at this level of detail. Court statistics for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006.
	The penalty notice for disorder scheme was brought into effect in all police forces in England and Wales during 2004. Under the scheme the police are able to issue persons committing specified minor offences with a fixed penalty notice. No admission of guilt is required and payment of the penalty discharges all liability for the offence. In 2004 25,591 penalty notices were issued in England and 2,869 in Lancashire police force area for the offence of being drunk and disorderly.
	Provisional data for 2005 to the end of September shows that 24,150 penalty notices were issued in England and 3,362 in Lancashire police force area for this offence. It is not possible to identify those issued in West Lancashire, as the data are not collected at this level of detail. The aggravated offence is not included in the scheme.
	
		Number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences relating to drunkenness, Lancashire police force area and England 1997 to 2004(17)
		
			  Lancashire police force area England 
			  Drunkenness, simple(19) Drunkenness with aggravation(19) Drunkenness, simple(18) Drunkenness with aggravation(19) 
		
		
			 1997 224 1,237 3,333 22,474 
			 1998 216 1,319 3,710 23,864 
			 1999 182 1,444 3,134 22,764 
			 2000 247 1,682 2,579 22,078 
			 2001 181 1,815 2,424 21,468 
			 2002 177 1,643 2,201 22,741 
			 2003 74 1,574 1,999 23,893 
			 2004 38 675 1,674 17,550 
		
	
	1 These data are on the principal offence basis.
	2 Includes offences under S.12 Licensing Act 1872, Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc) Act 1985 SS.1(4), 1 A(4), 2.(2) and S.12 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 3 Includes offences under S.91 Criminal Justice Act 1967,8.12 Licensing Act 1872, S.174 Licensing Act 1964, S.9(4) Late Night Refreshment Houses Act 1969, S.28 London Hackney Carriage Act 1843J SS.101(1)(a)(b), (4) & (5) Merchant Shipping Act 1995, S.2 Licensing Act 1902 and S.61 Town Police Clauses Act 1847.

Animal Welfare

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) charges, (b) investigations and (c) prosecutions there have been under (i) the Animals (Cruel Poisons) Act 1962, (ii) the Abandonment of Animals Act 1960, (iii) the Docking and Nicking of Horses Act 1949, (iv) the Cockfighting Act 1952, (v) the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999, (vi) the Protection of Animals Act 1934, (vii) the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and (viii) the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925 in the last 10 years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Data is not available for the number of defendants charged with, or investigated for offences relating to animal cruelty.
	Data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of prosecutions made for offences relating to animal cruelty, is provided in the following table.
	
		Number of defendants prosecuted for offences relating to animal cruelty in England and Wales, 1994–2004(17)
		
			 Offence description Offence Act 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 
		
		
			 Cruelty to Animals. Protection of Animals (Regulation) Act 1911 908 927 967 1,051 1,107 1,050 
			 Prohibition of certain public contests performances and exhibitions with animals. Protection of Animals Act 1934 4 2 3 6 4 0 
			 Exhibition and training of performing animals without being registered. Performing Animals (Regulations) Act 1925. 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Prohibition of docking and nicking exception in certain cases. Docking and Nicking of Horses Act 1949 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Possession of appliances for use in fighting of domestic fowl rendered unlawful. Cockfighting Act 1952 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 The abandonment of animals. Abandonment of Animals Act 1960 21 18 25 26 36 17 
			 Unlawful use of poison for destroying animals. Animals (Cruel Poisons) Act 1962 1 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Sale of dogs. Custody of dog in contravention of S9(2) and failure to comply with S9(5). Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999 4 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Offence description Offence Act 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Cruelty to Animals. Protection of Animals (Regulation) Act 1911 1,074 975 1,006 999 984 
			 Prohibition of certain public contests performances and exhibitions with animals. Protection of Animals Act 1934 1 0 2 2 5 
			 Exhibition and training of performing animals without being registered. Performing Animals (Regulations) Act 1925. 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Prohibition of docking and nicking exception in certain cases. Docking and Nicking of Horses Act 1949 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Possession of appliances for use in fighting of domestic fowl rendered unlawful. Cockfighting Act 1952 0 0 0 0 0 
			 The abandonment of animals. Abandonment of Animals Act 1960 26 25 23 19 19 
			 Unlawful use of poison for destroying animals. Animals (Cruel Poisons) Act 1962 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Sale of dogs. Custody of dog in contravention of S9(2) and failure to comply with S9(5). Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999 0 0 0 0 1 
		
	
	(17) All data given refer to the principal offence only.

Antisocial Behaviour

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Government plan to improve help for parents in Swindon whose children are involved in antisocial behaviour.

Hazel Blears: Parenting is a core element of the Respect programme and is essential for creating a strong society based on mutual respect. Over the next two years we will invest an additional £52 million to start a national programme of change in the way that public services respond to parents.
	Nationally all local authorities will receive funding through the roll-out of children's centres and extended schools—a key aim within this being to improve parenting provision. The Respect programme will also include investment in early intervention measures to support vulnerable children and young people and their families, including pathfinders which develop leading practice in supporting parents.
	A further £28 million of new funding will be used to set up intensive family support programmes and provide parenting support to the most difficult families. To support parenting professionals a National Parenting Academy will be established to ensure that they have the necessary skills to delivery high quality parenting support.
	Swindon is one of the Government's action areas, committed to tackling antisocial behaviour and the Respect Task Force will continue to support local practitioners who are tackling antisocial behaviour and delivering parenting programmes locally.

Antisocial Behaviour

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to publicise action taken to tackle antisocial behaviour to members of the public in Tamworth.

Hazel Blears: Our approach to tackling antisocial behaviour has been to prioritise what matters to our communities—empowering people and local agencies to play an active role in establishing and reinforcing the boundaries of what is acceptable. Publicising actions taken to tackle antisocial behaviour is a key element of this work.
	As a result of the Crime and Disorder Act Review, the new Police and Justice Bill proposes to create the power to develop national standards for all Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs). These will, among other things, ensure that all CDRPs consult and engage with their communities on a regular and on-going basis. National standards will be developed in the coming months. This issue was also covered in more detail in the Government's Respect Action Plan. We want to make sure that we build on good practice and promote a dialogue between local people and local services by ensuring that CDRPs hold regular face the people" briefings—question and answer sessions open to the public, media and community groups. This should ensure that the public are made aware of actions that are being taken locally to tackle antisocial behaviour in their communities.

Antisocial Behaviour

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in (a) Bath and North East Somerset and (b) South Gloucestershire in each year since 1998.

Hazel Blears: Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) were made available to the courts from one April 1999. From commencement up to one June 2000 data were collected on aggregate numbers only by police force area. A table giving annual data broken down by the local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed within ASBOs (since one June 2000) is available on the Crime Reduction website at www.crimereduction.gov.uk. This table gives data up to 30 June 2005 (latest available).

Antisocial Behaviour

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the research studies which have been (a) conducted and (b) commissioned by the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit in the last 12 months; and how many of these studies have been subject to peer review by (i) the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics department and (ii) external academies.

Charles Clarke: The Anti-Social Behaviour Unit have commissioned the following projects in the last 12 months:
	1. An evaluation of work carried out by ENCAMS to reduce criminal damage. The early stages have been reviewed by the Home Office Research and Statistics department (RDS).
	2. A survey of the use of powers to tackle antisocial behaviour amongst Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) areas which was undertaken by RDS.
	3. Trailblazer perceptions survey which is continually reviewed by RDS.
	4. It's Your call which was reviewed by RDS.
	The following projects are RDS-led and have been endorsed by the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit:
	1. An assessment of the effectiveness of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs). This will be peer reviewed by external academics.
	2. Evaluation of new powers to remove graffiti from street furniture.
	3. Drivers of perceptions of antisocial behaviour.
	4. National data collection exercise on dispersal orders.

Cautions (Recidivism Rates)

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to conduct research into recidivism rates for people issued with cautions.

Fiona Mactaggart: There are currently no agreed plans for conducting research into the recidivism rates for people issued with cautions.
	Information on re-offending is published annually to monitor the target to reduce re-offending for offenders dealt with by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). The re-offending target for juveniles includes re-offending for young offenders given reprimands or final warnings and these rates are published annually. The most recent data are available on-line in Home Office OLR 08/05: 'Juvenile reconviction: results from the 2003 cohort' http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/onlinepubs1.html.
	The corresponding target for the adult population does not include cautions, only those offenders starting community penalties or being discharged from prison.

Charity Collection Fraud

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to tackle bogus charity door-to-door collectors.

Paul Goggins: The Charities Bill, which is currently before Parliament, will establish a new licensing scheme for public charitable collections. As now, local authorities and the police will be responsible for enforcement of the scheme. Unlike now, local authorities will have full details of all the legitimate collection activity that is taking place in their area, making it easier for them to identify and deal with bogus collections. The new scheme builds on existing sanctions, with the addition of two new offences. When these new measures are implemented we will explore with relevant authorities how we can raise awareness and encourage best practice in tackling bogus collections and enforcing the new scheme.

Charity Commission

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much is expected to be saved as a result of meeting civil service workforce reductions targets in the Charity Commission.

Paul Goggins: The total cumulative savings expected to be made as a result of meeting civil service workforce reductions targets by the Charity Commission are at least £2.25 million by March 2008 arising from a reduction of 50 in its full time equivalent posts.

Charity Commission

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the target level of employment expressed as full time equivalents is in the Charity Commission for April 2008.

Paul Goggins: The current target level of employment for the Charity Commission for April 2008 is 525 full time equivalents.

Charity Commission

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what total efficiency savings were achieved by the Charity Commission in 2004–05; and whether these count towards current efficiency savings targets.

Paul Goggins: The total efficiency savings achieved by the Charity Commission in 2004–05 amounted to £0.2 million and contribute to the Commission's target for the 2004 Spending Review period.

Charity Commission

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much of efficiency savings targets for the Charity Commission are to be cashable; and under what budget headings these cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent.

Paul Goggins: The Charity Commission's efficiency savings target includes £2.2 million that is cashable. This is generated from back office savings and will be offset against continuing operational activities, and new front line priorities emerging from the forthcoming Charities Bill.

Charity Commission

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets he has set for the Charity Commission to achieve (a) efficiency savings and (b) Civil Service workforce reductions.

Paul Goggins: The Charity Commission, as a non-Ministerial Government Department, agrees its efficiency savings and workforce reduction targets directly with HM Treasury.
	The Commission's targets are:
	Cumulative non-cashable savings of £2.025 million;
	Cumulative cashable savings of £2.2 million;
	A reduction in head count of 50 full time equivalent staff.

Child Protection

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of (a) the time taken to (i) investigate and (ii) charge individuals under child protection legislation and (b) the safeguards during investigations for the communities in which individuals under investigation (A) live and (B) work; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 14 February 2006, Official Report, column 1963W for part (a).
	On part (b) there are a number of safeguards for communities during these investigations. The Government guidance for local agencies dealing with child protection, 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (1999), makes clear that they should consider the needs of other children who may be affected, (e.g. siblings and other children in contact with alleged abusers), when planning how inquiries should be handled and deciding what action is needed.
	More recently, The Sexual Offences Act 2003 provided for risk of sexual harm orders (RoSHOs) which are civil, preventative orders that the police can apply to a magistrates court for in respect of a person over the age of 18 who, on at least two occasions, has engaged in sexually explicit conduct or communication with a child or children under the age of 16. The defendant may or may not have a conviction for a sexual or any other offence. The order may contain any prohibitions that the court considers appropriate but typically would include prohibitions on unsupervised contact with children.
	In November 2005 the Department for Education and Skills published guidance on dealing with allegations of abuse against teachers and other staff, which was developed in co-operation with the Home Office and Crown Prosecution Service. The guidance is intended to provide effective protection for children, but at the same time to support school staff by ensuring that cases are dealt with as fairly and quickly as possible. It includes indicative target time scales for different parts of the process.
	The Government plans to extend this approach to cover people who work with children in other settings. Implementation will be overseen by the Local Safeguarding Children Boards, to be set up in all local authority areas by April 2006. The guidance can be found at: www.dfes.gov.uk/teachernet/childprotection

Closing the Gap

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the evidential basis was for the statement in Closing the Gap that police restructuring will assist the delivery of policing in rural areas.

Hazel Blears: Closing the Gap was informed by a confidential national assessment of police forces carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. The assessment was conducted against standards for the delivery of protective services which were agreed with ACPO and piloted in a number of forces. The forces included both metropolitan and rural forces to give a representative sample and to ensure that standards were applicable to both.
	The national assessment was that no force achieved the highest standard overall, and only the two largest forces (in terms of officers) were rated as demonstrating significant proactive capability overall. On the basis of their analysis, which addressed the delivery of policing in all existing forces, HMIC recommended a reconfiguration to strategic forces of 4,000 or more officers as the best business solution".
	The primary focus of restructuring is to improve the delivery of policing in all areas and to effectively protect the public. The creation of strategic forces with improved capacity and resilience will help to safeguard local policing by reducing the need to abstract officers from neighbourhood policing teams, and by allowing for greater investment to pro-actively address some of the level 2 criminality which in turn can impact on local neighbourhoods. This will improve the policing service to all communities, both rural and non-rural.

Common Land

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on possible measures to prevent the nuisance use of by-ways and common land.

Hazel Blears: Home Office Ministers and officials regularly discuss environment-related crime and antisocial behaviour. These discussions have led to a number of legislative changes to tackle the dumping of waste and the gating of highways and by-ways affected by crime and antisocial behaviour.

Community Engagement (Policing)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the use of (a) community beat officers and (b) community support officers in the Chorley constituency.

Hazel Blears: Deployment of officers to each basic command unit (BCU) in lancashire is an operational matter for the chief constable. A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary on the southern BCU in Lancashire, which includes Chorley, was published in May 2005 and is on the HMIC website at: http//inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmic/methodologies/.
	The report acknowledges this BCU's strong commitment to community beat policing and confirms that the community support officers working within the BCU are appropriately deployed, working alongside community beat managers and relevant partner agency staff on high visibility patrol and quality of life and public reassurance initiatives.

Crime

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the levels of (a) violent crime, (b) car crime, (c) robbery and (d) burglary in Uxbridge constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Uxbridge comes within the Hillingdon crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) area. The available information for the Hillingdon CDRP is given in the table.
	
		Recorded crime in the Hillingdon crime and disorder reduction partnership area, 2004–05
		
			 Offence Number of offences 
		
		
			 Violent crime 6,782 
			 Domestic burglary 2,056 
			 Robbery 593 
			 Vehicle crime 4,812

Crime

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made using the Home Office Trends in Crime model of the impact on crime rates of (a) economic and (b) demographic changes in each year since 1995; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Home Office Trends in Crime model is an empirical model which attempts to explain annual changes in recorded crime in England and Wales by reference to annual changes in a number of economic, demographic, and criminal justice variables. It has been developed by joint external and internal research effort with the purpose of providing the Home Office with a tool for identifying those determinants of crime that are both within and outside of its control.
	The model is robust, but highly aggregated. As such it cannot account for all the factors that impact on crime rates. It has nonetheless demonstrated that economic and demographic factors have been important determinants of changes in crime over time.
	The model has not been used to attribute annual changes in crime to each of the explanatory variables. However, the model predicts that, if other factors remain constant, a permanent 1 per cent. increase in the growth rate of consumption expenditure reduces the growth rate of crime by about 1.7 per cent. On a similar basis, an increase of 1 per cent. in the growth rate of the proportion of young males in the population would increase the growth rate of crime by about 0.5 per cent.

Crime

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have been made to the Home Office Trends in Crime model in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Trends in Crime model is a forecasting tool developed by the Home Office with the purpose of providing a mechanism to quantify the autonomous determinants of crime using time series data from 1950 to 2004. The model attempts to explain annual changes in recorded crime by annual changes in a combination of economic, socio-demographic and criminal justice variables for the jurisdiction of England and Wales.
	Separate models have previously been estimated for five disaggregated property recorded crime types: total burglary, total robbery, theft of and from a vehicle and theft from a shop. These models have been recently updated with no major changes.
	New models have been developed for three additional crime types: total theft, criminal damage and violence against the person. These models are currently awaiting peer review.
	Coverage of recorded crimes in the Trends in Crime model now accounts for approximately 70 per cent. of total recorded crime.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Criminal Cases Review Commission received in grant aid in each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The amount of grant in aid received by the Commission each year since 1997 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 4,303,977 
			 1998–99 4,517,134 
			 1999–2000 5,530,000 
			 2000–01 5,415,000 
			 2001–02 6,525,000 
			 2002–03 7,000,000 
			 2003–04 7,800,000 
			 2004–05 5,750,000

Criminal Cases Review Commission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2006, Official Report, column 1094W, if he will place in the Library a list of the cases where (a) convictions have been found to be unsafe and (b) sentences have been found to be unfair.

Fiona Mactaggart: Since its inception, the commission had reviewed 7,590 cases by 31 December 2005, including 308 cases which had been referred to the appeal courts. 252 of the 308 referred cases had been heard by the appeal courts which had quashed 156 convictions and reduced 22 sentences. The breakdown by year is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Cases not referred Convictions referred Sentences referred Convictions quashed by appeal courts Sentences reduced appeal courts 
		
		
			 1997–98 299 10 1 9 1 
			 1998–99 461 27 4 17 1 
			 1999–2000 979 33 3 23 2 
			 2000–01 1,065 41 4 18 4 
			 2001–02 1,164 36 2 26 2 
			 2002–03 952 32 3 28 1 
			 2003–04 871 26 4 18 3 
			 2004–05 780 35 10 12 7 
			 1 April to 31 December 2005 711 29 8 5 1

Deactivated Weapons

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of violent crime using a deactivated weapon were recorded in each year since 1997–98.

Hazel Blears: Data for recorded crime involving specific types of imitation firearms in England and Wales have been only collected centrally since April 2004. In 2004–05 police recorded one violent offence that involved a deactivated weapon.

Death Statistics

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were killed by people diagnosed with a mental illness in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.

Hazel Blears: Available data are in the form of currently recorded homicides where the apparent circumstances of the offence involved a mentally disturbed suspect and were published in table 2.06 of Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/05" (HOSB 02/06). Based on information held on 28 November 2005, there were 40 victims in 2003–04 and 30 in 2004–05 where the suspect was considered to be mentally disturbed.

Departmental Catering Budget

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much and what proportion of his Department's catering budget was spent on fair trade produce in the last period for which figures are available.

Charles Clarke: Figures for the entire Home Office estate are not collated centrally. However, at the Department's new headquarters building our facilities manager has estimated that approximately £123,000 was spent on refreshments, primarily provided for meetings with visitors, which were fair trade (Rainforest Alliance/Fairtrade) products since moving in, in early 2005. This represents 25 per cent. of the total of such spending. There were in excess of 130,000 visitors recorded during this period.

Departmental Catering Budget

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's policy is on the procurement of fair trade produce for consumption on its premises.

Charles Clarke: The Home Office is fully aware of the Government's commitment to support ethical trading wherever possible and provides fair trade tea and coffee as standard refreshments at meetings at some of its key buildings.
	In addition a range of fair trade products is available for staff to purchase at some restaurants and cafes on the Home Office estate.
	On the public sector prison service estate, prison shops in some establishments sell a small range of fair trade products to prisoners and certain fair trade items are supplied for prisoner catering.

Departmental Recruitment

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many job advertisements were placed by his Department (a) in total, (b) in print newspapers and magazines and (c) on a recruitment website in each year since 1997; and at what (i) total and (ii) average cost in each case.

Charles Clarke: The information requested is not held centrally and to provide a breakdown as requested could be supplied only at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were employed by (a) HM Prison Service Agency, (b) the Criminal Records Bureau, (c) the Forensic Science Service, (d) the Assets Recovery Agency, (e) the Medical Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, (f) the Food Standards Agency, (g) the UK Passport Agency and (h) his Department in each region in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

Charles Clarke: The available information is too detailed to be set out in this answer but I will arrange for it to be placed in the House Library. In some cases it has not been possible to provide all the information requested without incurring disproportionate costs, or because data is not collected centrally in the form requested.

DNA Database

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is a target for the number of DNA records to be held in the National Register by December; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: There are no targets for the number of persons with a DNA profile on the National DNA database each year, but the Home Office has produced an estimate of the number of persons from England and Wales with a DNA profile held on the database in each year until 2012.
	The estimated number of persons from England and Wales who will be recorded on the National DNA database by 31 March 2007 is 3,305,564.

Domestic Violence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government have to improve the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence in West Lancashire.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government office for the north west (GONW) ensures that the National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan is linked to the improvement of service provision for women experiencing domestic violence across Lancashire. The Government office also ensures that local partnerships consider domestic violence as part of their negotiation of crime reduction targets with local partnerships.
	West Lancashire is currently seeking to recruit a Domestic Violence Co-ordinator by April of this year and domestic violence is a strategic theme in West Lancashire's 2005–08 Crime and Drugs Strategy, one of the outcomes of which is the development of a Domestic Violence Strategy for the district as well as an increase in the reporting of DV incidents.
	West Lancashire has received £7,000 domestic violence funding for the last two years and has also contributed part of its Building Safer Communities Funding towards domestic violence. West Lancashire will be part of the Lancashire County Council Local Area Agreement from April 2006 and, within the Stronger Safer Communities Block, there are two domestic violence outcomes: (1) to increase the number of domestic violence incidents recorded by the police, and (2) to assess the overall provision and effectiveness of local authority services designed to help victims of DV and prevent further occurrences.
	Specialist domestic violence courts are being rolled out across Lancashire as part of the Specialist Domestic Violence Court Programme. As a result, Lancashire Strategic Domestic Violence Management Group have been commissioned by Government Office for the North West to undertake a complete gap analysis of all service provision to adults and children who may experience domestic violence with an action plan being drawn up in March 2006 to ensure improvements are made.

Drug Intervention Programme

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases in the Drug Intervention Programme (a) handling stolen goods, (b) attenuated acquisitive crime and (c) begging was the trigger for a drugs test in 2004–05.

Paul Goggins: The following table gives a breakdown of drug tests successfully conducted for 2004–05.
	In Schedule six to the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (as amended by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (Amendment) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1892), an offence under section 1(1) of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 is a trigger offence if committed in respect of an offence under any of the following provisions of the Theft Act 1968-section one (theft), section eight (robbery), section nine (burglary), section 15 (obtaining property by deception), and section 22 (handling stolen goods).
	Attempted crimes, begging and persistent begging became trigger offences from 27 July 2004.
	
		
			 Trigger Total number of tests 
		
		
			 Handling stolen goods (excluding attempted handling) 1,468 
			 Acquisitive crime (excluding attempted crimes) 40,829 
			 Acquisitive crime (excluding attempted crimes) 39,431 
			 Attempted crimes 1,398 
			 Begging 1,014 
			 Persistent begging 30

Drug Offences

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were (a) arrested, (b) prosecuted and (c) imprisoned for (i) drugs offences and (ii) Class A drugs offences in each of the last five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The number of children (persons aged between 10 and 17) arrested for drug offences in England and Wales is shown in table A. Data collected centrally cannot be broken down by drug class type.
	
		Table A: Number of children aged 10 to 17 arrested for drug offences in England and Wales, 2000–01 to 2004–05
		
			  Number of arrests 
		
		
			 2000–01 16,000 
			 2001–02 17,600 
			 2002–03 19,500 
			 2003–04 18,100 
			 2004–05 14,500 
		
	
	Note:
	Includes estimates as not all forces have been able to supply information to the detail required.

Drugs

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the extent to which the voluntary sector is used for and involved in the provision of treatment of problematic drug users.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	Recorded on the national drug treatment monitoring system, 930 of the 1,306 agencies, which includes young people services, involved in the delivery of drug treatment are within the voluntary sector.
	Drug action teams or other local partnerships oversee the commissioning of drug treatment and develop their plans in close consultation with voluntary sector providers.

Elder Abuse

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what systems are in place among law enforcement agencies to (a) record and (b) respond to cases of elder abuse.

Hazel Blears: The information is as follows.
	(a) Elder abuse is not a recorded offence category and incidents of elder abuse could be recorded under various offence categories (e.g. serious wounding, common assault, harassment, criminal damage etc). Elder abuse, depending on the specific nature of the incident, can be classified as domestic violence.
	Although domestic violence is also not a recorded offence category, police forces are asked to 'flag' domestic violence incidents as they are assessed on their pro-active response to domestic violence incidents through the Police Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF).
	(b) No Secrets", jointly published by the Department of Health and the Home Office in 2000, provides a complete definition of abuse and a framework for councils to work with the police, the NHS and regulators to tackle and prevent abuse occurring. It was the product of a multi-agency steering group, led by the Department of Health, with the full co-operation of the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Association of Directors of Social Services, the voluntary sector and academic bodies. The aim of No Secrets is to ensure that key local agencies, particularly but not solely health, social services and the police, are able to work together to protect vulnerable adults from abuse, by developing local multi-agency policies and procedures. No Secrets gives local councils the lead for development of adult protection committees. A copy is available in the Library.

External Consultants

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has paid since 2004 to external consultants who had previously been employed by the Department in any capacity within the previous five years.

Charles Clarke: Information on whether external consultants have previously been employed by the Department in any capacity is not held centrally. To obtain this information and the total cost of employing such consultants would incur disproportionate cost.

Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a fund analogous to the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund exists from which non-religious belief groups may receive grant money.

Paul Goggins: The Government are investing in a number of funds to support capacity building in the voluntary and community sector:
	£80 million in the ChangeUp programme to improve the support available to front line voluntary and community sector organisations. Investment is being made at national, regional and local level and is focused on infrastructure organisations within the voluntary community sector.
	£125 million in Futurebuilders fund which is investing in front line VCS public service delivery schemes in priority service areas of health and social care; crime; community cohesion; education and learning; and support for children and young people.
	In addition, as part of the implementation of the recommendations within the Russell Commission report the Government are investing £1 million in a programme to build the capacity of voluntary and community sector organisations to involve more young volunteers. 45 national, regional and local organisations have been awarded funding and there will be a programme of training and support offered across England.
	Any VCS organisation that can satisfy the criteria for any of the above programmes would be eligible to apply for that programme.

Firearms

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made in each year since 1997 for possession of firearms; and how many gun-related incidents have been recorded in each of those years.

Hazel Blears: Available information on arrests for possession of firearms following searches of persons or vehicles under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 can be found in table PA of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 21/05 Arrests for Recorded Crime (Notifiable Offences) and the Operation of Certain Police Powers under PACE, England and Wales, 2004/05".
	Table 3.01 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime, 2004/05"shows the number of notifiable crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in which firearms (including air weapons) were reported to have been used.
	Both bulletins are available on the Home Office website www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbpubs1.html.

Firearms

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of illegally held firearms in England and Wales.

Hazel Blears: There are no reliable estimates of the number of firearms held illegally.

Fireworks

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalty notices have been issued in relation to the illegal use of fireworks in (a) West Lancashire and (b) the Lancashire police force area since the relevant legislation was introduced.

Hazel Blears: Offences under the Fireworks Regulations 2004 (made under section 11 of the Fireworks Act 2003) for breach of the national fireworks curfew, the illegal possession of category four fireworks and the possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework attract penalty notices for disorder, as well as the offence of throwing fireworks. The offence of throwing fireworks has been included in the penalty notice for disorder scheme since it was introduced nationally during 2004. The offences under the Fireworks Regulations 2004 were brought into the scheme with effect from 11 October 2004. The numbers of penalty notices issued by Lancashire police force area for 2004 and provisional data from January to September 2005 are provided in the table. It is not possible to identify the number of Penalty Notices for Disorder issued in West Lancashire police force area as centrally available data is not broken down to that level of detail.
	
		Number of Penalty Notices for Disorder issued for fireworks offences, Lancashire police force area 2004 and January–September 2005
		
			  Throwing fireworks Breach of fireworks curfew Possession of a Category 4 firework Possession by under 18 of adult firework 
		
		
			 2004 14 2 — 1 
			 January-September  2005 (provisional) 11 1 1 1 
		
	
	Source:
	RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Fraud (Bank Accounts)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the level of fraud involving (a) basic bank accounts and (b) current accounts.

Hazel Blears: Information is not collected centrally on the level of fraud involving basic bank accounts and current accounts.

Freedom of Information

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what total sum has been received by his Department for the provision of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in its first year of operation.

Charles Clarke: The total sum received by the Department for the provision of information under the Freedom of Information Act is zero.
	The Freedom of Information Act allows for public authorities to determine when the cost of processing a request will exceed the appropriate limit, which for central Government are set at £600 and for the wider public sector £450.
	Further information on the FOI fees regime can be found on the DCA website at http://www.foi.gov.uk/feesguide.htm.

Graffiti

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the powers of local authorities to remove graffiti from private property.

Hazel Blears: Defacement Removal Notices as introduced by the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 (and amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) will be commenced on 6 April 2006. This provision enables a local authority to serve a defacement removal notice on the owner of street furniture or property owned by a statutory undertaker when they have failed to remove graffiti or fly-posting.
	There are no plans to extend this to cover private domestic property.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which major investigations have been inspected by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary since 1997.

Hazel Blears: HMIC reported on the investigation by Cambridgeshire Constabulary into the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells on 4 August 2002.

Home Detention Curfew Scheme

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted of (a) gun crimes and (b) drug crimes were released (i) on licence, (ii) on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme and (iii) early, having not reached their sentence expiry date, in each of the last five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information on numbers of those convicted of gun crimes who were released from prison establishments is not available centrally. An indication of the number of releases of those convicted of drugs offences can be found in tables 7.2 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library. This shows the number of sentenced receptions each year.
	The number of people sentenced for drugs offences who were released under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme between the years 2001 and 2005, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system, is provided in the following table.
	
		Drug offenders released under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme 2001–05
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 2,213 
			 2002 2,669 
			 2003 2,777 
			 2004 2,427 
			 2005 2,530 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. These statistics are based on information recorded on the central Prison Service IT system at 9 February 2006. Further updates and amendments may be made to records on this system in future resulting in revised figures.
	2. Offence recorded on Prison Service IT system.
	Investigations suggest that around 5 per cent. of offence types recorded on this system do not relate to the offence for which they were released on HOC but relate to offences committed after release from prison and before the licence expiry date for their sentence.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State during the debate on the Identity Card Bill, 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1209, whether the set-up costs for the Identity Card Scheme are included in the £584 million annual cost over 10 years of the scheme.

Andy Burnham: £584 million is the average annual cost of issuing passports and identity cards to British nationals and operating an identity verification service over a 10-year period. This includes charges for the depreciation and amortisation of capital assets purchased during the set-up of the scheme. Additionally, not all assets required to set up and deliver the scheme will be purchased up front, some will be charged by regular payments over time, and these charges are also included in the figure of £584 million.
	However, final decisions as to which assets are purchased up front and what components are delivered through ongoing service charges can only be formalised following the conclusion of the forthcoming procurement process.

Identity Fraud

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to change the operation of the deed poll system in order to prevent identity fraud.

Andy Burnham: There are no plans to make any changes to the deed poll process, but we are working with a range of public and private sector organisations to reduce identity fraud. We have introduced a range of measures to tackle identity related crime which are set out at www.identitytheft.org.uk
	There are a number of ways in which an individual can change his or her name, of which deed poll is one. A name is one element of a person's identity, but there are others such as date of birth, address and, with the development of technology, biometric information which can uniquely identify an individual. We are committed to reducing identity fraud and this is one of the reasons why we want to establish a national Identity Cards Scheme. The scheme will utilise biometrics and provide people with a highly-secure means of protecting their identity.

Internet (Terrorism)

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make a statement about progress being made to prevent internet service providers based abroad using the web to promote terrorism;
	(2)  when he last met ICANN (Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers) to discuss the monitoring of the internet to prevent communication between terrorist organisations.

Hazel Blears: I have had no recent meetings with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). However, we continue to co-operate with internet service providers in the UK and abroad to tackle websites that promote terrorism both generally and in relation to specific sites. We are also working closely with international partners in a number of for a including the EU, UN, G8 and OSCE.

Juvenile Offenders

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were committed by juvenile offenders in (a) Peterborough constituency and (b) the Cambridgeshire area in each quarter since 2001; how many cautions were issued in relation to such cases; and how many children in the Peterborough city council area (i) were convicted, (ii) were in local authority care, (iii) received a reprimand, (iv) received a final warning and (v) were found guilty in each year.

Hazel Blears: Data held by the juvenile offenders reprimanded, given final warnings, prosecuted, and found guilty of all offences in Cambridgeshire police force area, are provided in the following table. Figures are presented for the years 2001–04. Statistics on court proceedings for 2005 will be published in autumn 2006. It is not possible to separately identify Peterborough as the data are not collected at this level of detail. DfES has advised that for the period 2001 to 2004, the number of looked-after children in Peterborough, were as follows, 355 for 2001, 325 for 2002, 335 for 2003 and 325 for 2004.
	
		Number of juvenile offenders (aged 10 to 17) reprimanded and given final warnings(18), prosecuted(19), and found guilty(20) of all offences in Cambridgeshire police force area—2001 to 2004(21)
		
			 Year/quarter Reprimand(18) Final warning(18) Prosecuted(19) Found guilty(21) 
		
		
			 2001 769 241 1,334 29 
			 Q1 223 57 334 236 
			 Q2 226 67 309 227 
			 Q3 171 57 363 249 
			 Q4 149 60 328 217 
			 2002 681 221 1,431 967 
			 Q1 200 49 333 239 
			 Q2 179 88 376 243 
			 Q3 154 45 375 243 
			 Q4 148 39 347 |42 
			  
			 2003 625 249 1,442 1,077 
			 Q1 136 59 381 269 
			 Q2 187 50 325 247 
			 Q3 155 66 383 282 
			 Q4 147 74 353 279 
			  
			 2004 770 342 1,200 927 
			 Q1 170 86 321 249 
			 Q2 169 97 286 210 
			 Q3 211 83 287 219 
			 Q4 220 76 306 249 
		
	
	(18) Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1 998 cautions were replaced for juveniles with reprimands and final warnings.
	(19) Prosecuted at magistrate's courts.
	(20) Found guilty at all courts.
	(21) All data given refer to the principal offence only.

Life Sentences

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the shortest amount of time served by a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment before he or she were released on licence was in each year between 1999 and 2004.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system, is provided in the following table.
	
		Shortest time served(22)by a prisoner sentenced to life before they were released on licence, by year of release
		
			 Year of release Shortest time served (years)(23) 
		
		
			 1999 2.0 
			 2000 3.0 
			 2001 2.1 
			 2002 2.5 
			 2003 1.2 
			 2004 2.3 
		
	
	(22) Calculated using the centralised prisons IT system.
	(23) Time served under sentence.

Magic Mushrooms

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what point after the implementation of the Drugs Act 2005 the advice given by the Talk to Frank helpline in relation to the status of unprepared magic mushrooms was changed.

Paul Goggins: The change under the Drugs Act 2006 in relation to magic mushrooms came into effect on 18 July 2005. Prior advice was provided to the Talk to Frank helpline advisers on 14 July 2005.

Manslaughter

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) minimum and (b) maximum sentence is for manslaughter; and what the sentencing guidelines are for that offence.

Fiona Mactaggart: The maximum sentence for manslaughter is life imprisonment; there is no minimum sentence.
	There are no statutory sentencing guidelines for the offence. However, the Sentencing Guidelines Council issued a guideline Manslaughter by Reason of Provocation" on 28 November 2005, and there several Court of Appeal guidelines for the offence of manslaughter.

Muslim Groups (Consultations)

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure that, in his Department's ongoing dialogue with faith groups and representatives of British Muslims on issues relating to community cohesion and counter-terrorism, the views of the Somali community are adequately represented.

Paul Goggins: The Government are committed to engaging with all sections of all faith communities.
	Dialogue has been established with representatives from the Somali community at local, regional and national level.
	The nine ministerial visits which took place after the London bombings played an important part in informing Government of the steps needed to prevent extremism and improve community cohesion. Representatives from the Somali communities in Birmingham, Bolton, Leicester and Manchester were actively involved in these discussions with Ministers.
	Further opportunities for dialogue have been taken, including a recent visit to Ealing and Hounslow by my ministerial colleague, the member for Harrow East, who met representatives from the local Somali community.
	The Government will continue to improve and develop its relationship with the Somali community so as to ensure that the views of this community are fully represented.

Muslim Prisoners

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that prisoners who are Muslim are offered halal food.

Fiona Mactaggart: Establishments are required to offer a range of meals that enable prisoners to make preferred choices, including meals suited to their ethnic and religious needs. Muslim prisoners must be offered an appropriate daily main meal choice. The policy emphasises the concept of prisoner choice and requires meal options to be displayed in prominent locations. The Prison Service continues to have discussions with key advisers, including Muslim leaders, representatives from the Halal Food Authority and the Prison Service Muslim Advisor about halal food requirements.

National Offender Management Service

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he expects there will be a protocol or memorandum of agreement with the National Assembly for Wales to facilitate the delivery of the National Offender Management Service in Wales.

Fiona Mactaggart: Proposed governance arrangements for the National Offender Management Service in Wales form part of the consultation to implement 'Joining Together in Wales: an Adult and Young People's Strategy to Reduce Re-offending'. The proposed arrangements reflect the partnership approach that the Home Office has with the Welsh Assembly Government and do not refer to the need for a protocol or memorandum of agreement.

National Offender Management Service

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what developments he expects the (a) Prison and (b) Probation Service to make under the National Offender Management Service in the next (i) six months and (ii) three years.

Fiona Mactaggart: I set out my expectations for both the Prison and Probation Services in the NOMS five year strategy—Reducing Re-offending and Reducing Crime, which was issued on 9 February 2006. Copies are in the Library and the Vote Office. The strategy states:
	By 2007 we will have:
	Laid out our plans for contestability in a detailed prospectus
	Introduced legislation to set up probation trusts
	Set out our strategy for the prison estate
	Ensured that offender management roll out is well under way
	Introduced the new short prison sentence of custody plus.
	By 2009 we will have:
	Introduced day fines
	Completed the roll out of offender management to all offenders
	Made 'going straight' contracts an integral part of working with offenders
	A better IT system for managing offenders with the current OASys system fully integrated into C-NOMIS
	Legislated for a new sentencing framework for juveniles.

National Offender Management Service

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has assessed on the impact of commissioning of probation services on standards at an operational level.

Fiona Mactaggart: The introduction of service level and contractual arrangements into the custodial sector of the National Offender Management Services following the introduction of competition is estimated to have delivered performance improvements within the range of 3.0 per cent. to 8.5 per cent. The introduction of commissioning and contestability in the provision of probation services is expected to deliver operational performance improvements comparable to those achieved in the custodial sector.

National Offender Management Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the job descriptions are of (a) regional offender managers and (b) their staff under the National Offender Management Service arrangements.

Fiona Mactaggart: The job description for the post of Regional Offender Manager was contained in the information pack sent to all prospective candidates in the summer of 2004. A copy of the information pack has been placed in the House of Commons Library for members to read. Each Regional Offender Manager is profiled to have eight members of staff, including the ROM. In recognition of their additional workload, the offices of the South East and Welsh ROMs have been allocated an additional post. The job descriptions of these staff members are a matter for individual ROMs.

National Offender Management Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds have been allocated to regional offender managers under the National Offender Management Service arrangements, broken down by area served by each manager; and how many staff are employed by each manager.

Fiona Mactaggart: The budget given to each Regional Offender Manager in the financial year 2005–06 ranges between £456,314 and £654,506. These figures are dependent on profiles reflecting the differing needs and requirements of each region, and cover staff and office management costs.
	Each Regional Offender Manager is profiled to have eight members of staff, including the ROM. In recognition of their additional workload, the offices of the South East and Welsh ROMs have been allocated an additional post.

National Offender Management Service

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed by the National Offender Management Service, broken down by region; and how many will be employed in 2006–07.

Fiona Mactaggart: At December 2005, 49,600 staff were employed by NOMS, of whom 47,000 (mainly staff employed in prisons) were employed outside NOMS headquarters. In addition, 20,000 national probation service staff are employed in the regions, though they are not directly employed by the National Offender Management Service.
	As part of the Government's commitment to reduce numbers of staff at the centre of the civil service, the National Offender Management Service is currently reviewing its headquarters function and will be finalising plans for future deployment of staff shortly.

National Offender Management Service

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the National Offender Management Service to be fully operational.

Fiona Mactaggart: The NOMS five year strategy Protecting the Public and Reducing Re-offending" sets out the timetable for change; copies of this are in the Library and the Vote Office. Chapter 6 details this timetable, the substantial progress which we expect to make and our longer term aims.

National Offender Management Service

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost of (a) regional offender managers and (b) supporting staff within the National Offender Management Service was in 2005–06.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to confirm the total staffing costs of each Regional Offender Manager's (ROM's) office for the year 2005–06 before the financial year has ended. However, the budget given to each Regional Offender Manager in the financial year 2005–06, which included staff costs, ranged between £456,314 and £654,506. Every ROM will come within budget this financial year.

National Probation Directorate

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to give the National Probation Directorate the responsibility for appraising the proposals outlined in the discussion paper Restructuring Probation to Reduce Re-offending".

Fiona Mactaggart: Senior officials in the National Probation Directorate (NPD) were involved in the development of the proposals set out in the consultation paper Restructuring Probation to Reduce Re-offending". NPD is a directorate of NOMS, and the Director of NPD sits on the NOMS Board which has responsibility for overseeing the development of the proposals both prior to and following the consultation.

National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the personnel establishment is of the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit; and what the personnel establishment is projected to be by 2010.

Charles Clarke: It is established policy not to comment on the breakdown of resources in relation to national security;

Operation Trident

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria he has established with which to assess the effectiveness of Operation Trident.

Hazel Blears: The establishment of criteria for assessing the effectiveness of Operation Trident is a matter for the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

Parenting Orders

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evaluation has been conducted of parenting orders; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: Parenting is strongly relevant to juvenile antisocial and criminal behaviour and can be associated with increased risk or it can be a factor which protects children and young people from being involved in such behaviour.
	There is evidence, particularly from the United States, that parenting interventions which include the improvement of parenting skills can be effective in reducing antisocial and criminal behaviour.
	An independent evaluation of the Youth Justice Board's parenting programme included parents who were subject to parenting orders. This evaluation, published in 2002, found that most parents valued the parenting programmes they had undertaken and wished they had received such support earlier. The study observed a reduction in offending but the lack of a comparison group meant that this could not be attributed to parenting programmes.
	Youth Offending Teams have adapted programmes underpinned by evidence of effectiveness and some have developed their own programmes based on such evidence. Since 2002 the Youth Justice Board has introduced an effective practice quality assurance review process as part of a management system to improve the quality and volume of parenting interventions being delivered by Youth Offending Teams.
	The requirement for further research into the impact of parenting programmes is currently being considered.

Parliamentary Questions

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer Questions (a) 32177 and (b) 32176 tabled by the hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre on 22 November 2005.

Hazel Blears: I replied to the hon. Member on 14 February 2006, Official Report, column 1988W.

Parole

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted murderers released on parole in each of the last 15 years have subsequently committed murder.

Fiona Mactaggart: The data are not available in the form requested, but the following may be relevant.
	Data on reconvictions of life licensees were published in 1997 in Life Licensees—reconvictions and recalls by the end of 1995: England and Wales" (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 2/97).
	The report shows that of 1,691 life licensees first released between 1972 and 1994, 66 were reconvicted of a grave offence (including murder or manslaughter) by the end of 1995. 19 of the 66 related to life licensees who were reconvicted for homicide and who had an original conviction for homicide.

Parole

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted rapists released on parole in each of the last 15 years have subsequently been convicted of rape.

Fiona Mactaggart: The data are not available in the form requested.
	Information on re-offending is published annually by the Home Office for the monitoring of the target to reduce re-offending. These reports show re-offending for a range of offences, including sexual offences (as a group, rape is not separately identified) and burglary, but the figures do not separately identify those offenders who were released on parole and do not give a full analysis of the types of subsequent offences. The most recent data for adults are available at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb2505.pdf.

Parole

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how parole boards are constituted; and against what criteria a decision to release a prisoner is made.

Fiona Mactaggart: This is a matter for the independent Parole Board. I understand that a parole panel would consist of three members. The board also consider other types of cases and the panels for these may be constituted differently. Each parole decision is based upon the evidence of a paper dossier and all decisions, whether to award or refuse parole, are taken against the criteria set out in the Secretary of State for the Home Department's Directions to the Parole Board under section 32(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

Passports

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the annual cost of the Passport Agency Support System was in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what records are held on an individual in the Passport Agency Support System.

Andy Burnham: The Passport Application Support System (PASS) contains the personal data provided by the individual on the application form, the progress history of the application, and details of the passport issued, as shown on the personal data page of the passport.
	Thus, the personal details held on the system are:
	(1) applicant's name,
	(2) gender,
	(3) date of birth,
	(4) town and country of birth,
	(5) the names, dates of birth and places of birth of both parents (in most cases),
	(6) details of naturalisation or registration certificates where appropriate,
	(7) address and other contact details,
	(8) name and passport number of countersignatory,
	(9) passport number,
	(10) issuing authority,
	(11) dates of validity,
	(12) the photograph displayed on the passport,
	(13) the signature displayed on the passport,
	(14) nationality.
	In addition, the full progress history of an application is held on the system. This would include information such as the date the record was created, the date the issue of a passport was authorised as well as any notes made by UKPS staff during the consideration of the application.
	A complete copy of the application form is also stored on the system. Supporting documents provided by applicants to verify information provided may also be scanned into the record and since December 2003, all completed forms reporting lost, stolen or recovered passports have been stored on the database.
	The system also holds information about all passports issued to a person under the same name. Furthermore, since September 2004, when an applicant has applied for a renewed passport and has changed their name, PASS automatically adds notes linking the new and previous passport records.
	The UK Passport Service has an outsourced PFI contract with Siemens Business Services, a component part of which is to provide support and maintenance to PASS. The contract provides for per transaction charges which also includes receipt, cashiering and data capture of all passport applications, therefore it is not possible to separate the amount relevant solely to the system costs.

Passports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were prosecuted for making fake passports in the UK in each of the last seven years.

Andy Burnham: The data held by the Office for Criminal Justice does not enable offences relating to making fake passports to be separately identified from other forgery offences under the Forgery and Counterfeighting Act 1981.

Passports

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent to date on preparation for the inclusion of fingerprint biometrics in passports.

Andy Burnham: During 2004–05 the UK Passport Service undertook a large scale biometric trial to test processes and record customer experience during enrolment and verification of facial, iris and fingerprint biometrics. The cost of this trial was £1.5 million. It is not possible to specify separately the element of this cost relating to fingerprints.

Police

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from (a) the Courts Service, (b) the Crown Prosecution Service, (c) the National Probation Directorate and (d) criminal justice boards about the proposed re-organisation of police forces in England and Wales; and if he will place copies in the Library.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Courts Service, Crown Prosecution Service, National Offender Management Service and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (which supports and co-ordinates the work of Local Criminal Justice Boards) have been included in the central team working on restructuring throughout the review process. Officials from these agencies have contributed to the consideration of amalgamation proposals on a case-by-case basis. Proposals for mergers therefore take into account the views of these partners on the viability and operability of a reorganised policing landscape in these localities.

Police

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what remit the National Policing Improvement Agency will have in respect of the police forces in Wales.

Hazel Blears: Under the provisions of clause one and schedule one to the Police and Justice Bill, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) will assist and support all forces in England and Wales in the provision of an improved policing service.

Police

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next plans to review the level of funding for police community support officers in Cambridgeshire; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Under the Neighbourhood Policing Fund (NPF) we are making £88 million available in 2006–07 and £340 million available in 2007–08 to help forces increase the number of police community support officers (PCSOs) to 24,000 by 2008. We are currently considering proposals from forces for NPF funding and we will be confirming force allocations shortly.
	We have made it clear that we will sustain the investment in PCSOs beyond 2008. In the longer term we propose to include funding for PCSOs in the general police funding.

Police

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers have been introduced in (a) Wakefield, (b) Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and (c) West Yorkshire since the scheme began; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the community support officers on crime and antisocial behaviour.

Hazel Blears: West Yorkshire Police recruited its first police community support officers (PCSOs) in 2002–03. The table sets out the number of PCSOs in the West Yorkshire Police for each year since 31 March 2003. Information has only been collected at Basic Command Unit (BCU) level since June 2005. The deployment of PCSOs to the Wakefield Area BCU is an operational matter for the chief constable.
	A National Evaluation of Community Support Officers" (Home Office Research Study 297) was published on 25 January. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library. PCSOs have been well received by the public. They are helping to restore respect in local communities by providing reassurance and tackling antisocial behaviour and low level crime.
	
		West Yorkshire police and Wakefield district division community support officer numbers
		
			 As at 31 March West Yorkshire police—total number of community support officers Wakefield district division—community support officers(24) 
		
		
			 2003 70 n/a 
			 2004 265 n/a 
			 2005 394 41 
			 2005(25) 433 n/a 
		
	
	n/a=not available.
	(24) Community support officer BCU strength collected once a year and was collected and published for the first time for the period ending 30 June 2005.
	(25) September 2005.

Police

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which organisations other than the police the National Police DNA database is made available.

Andy Burnham: Information on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) can only be used for the prevention or detection of crime, the investigation of an offence, the conduct of a prosecution or the identification of a deceased person or of the person from whom a body part came.
	Within the UK the Serious Organised Crime Agency is the only organisation, other than the police, to which information on the NDNAD is made available.
	Requests from international law enforcement authorities for a search of the NDNAD are channelled through Interpol. These are only processed where it is clear that the request complies with the restrictions on use. In addition, a risk assessment on the dissemination of the information is made which will take into account the justification and proportionality of disclosure of the information. If cleared for processing a one-off speculative search of the database is made and information fed back via Interpol.

Police

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was at current prices of policing per head of population in Cambridgeshire in (a) 1997–98, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06; and how much of this funding came from (i) council tax, (ii) police grant, (iii) national business rate, (iv) revenue support grant and (v) other funding sources in each year.

Hazel Blears: The information is set out in the following table.
	We do not distribute grant to police authorities purely on the basis of population. The police funding formula uses a range of socio-demographic data to reflect reasonably the relative needs of each authority. Grant allocations also take into account the relative resources of each authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping changes to limit year-on-year variations.
	
		Cost of policing per head of population in Cambridgeshire -- £
		
			  Per head of population (real terms) 
			  (i) Council tax (ii) Home Office Police Grant (iii) National non-domestic rates (iv) Revenue Support Grant (v) Other funding sources(26) 
		
		
			 1997–98 19.98 58.43 23.16 15.29 10.80 
			 2004–05 45.57 65.03 13.62 23.85 25.31 
			 2005–06 46.37 66.17 15.87 22.19 22.60 
		
	
	(26) Figures of 'other' income provided by Cambridgeshire police.
	Notes:
	1. Real terms at 2004–05 prices using GDP deflator at 23 December 2005.
	2. Other funding for 2004–05 and 2005–06 include Home Office specific grants.

Police

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) the borough of Tamworth, (c) Trent Valley division and (d) Staffordshire in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The available information is provided in the table. Statistics by constituency and borough are not collected centrally.
	
		Police officer strength in Trent Valley and Staffordshire, (1997–2005) -- Full-time equivalent
		
			 As at 31 March Trent Valley(27) Staffordshire(28) 
		
		
			 1997 — 2,211 
			 1998 — 2,292 
			 1999 — 2,238 
			 2000 — 2,170 
			 2001 — 2,129 
			 2002 — 2,133 
			 2003 — 2,202 
			 2004 392.3 2,266 
			 2005 429.1 2,280 
		
	
	(27) All officers FTE including staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.
	(28) All officers FTE less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave
	Note:
	NB force were unable to provide BCU figures in 2003

Police

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers have been introduced in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) the borough of Tamworth, (c) Trent Valley division and (d) Staffordshire since the scheme began; and what assessment he has made of the impact of community support officers on crime and antisocial behaviour.

Hazel Blears: Information relating to (a) Tamworth constituency and (b) the borough of Tamworth are not collected centrally.
	Information relating to the number of full-time equivalent police community support officers (PCSOs) in each police force area have been collected by RDS since 2003. As at 31 March 2003 Staffordshire did not have any PCSOs. Seven PCSOs were introduced by 31 March 2004, this increased by 56 giving a total of 63 PCSOs as at 31 March 2005. This figure decreased to 62 as at 30 September 2005.
	Information on the number of PCSOs in basic command units (BCU) has only been collected since June 2005. The Trent Valley BCU had 15 PCSOs on 30 June 2005. Information is not collected on the number of PCSOs for either Tamworth constituency or borough. Deployment of PCSOs within Trent Valley division is an operational matter for the divisional commander and I am told that details of their deployment is set out in the Staffordshire police website.
	A National Evaluation of Community Support Officers" (Home Office Research Study 297) was published on 25 January. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House and shows that PCSOs have been well received by the public. They are helping to restore respect in local communities by providing reassurance and tackling antisocial behaviour and low level crime.

Police

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the financial position of the pension schemes of police forces in Wales.

Hazel Blears: At present, all police forces in England and Wales pay pensions to retired officers from their general funding. This arrangement suffers from volatility and does not enable the cost of pensions in payment to be kept separate from operating costs.
	With effect from April 2006, a new system of financing police pensions will be introduced in England and Wales, based on officers' contribution and a new employer contribution that will be paid by the police authority into a separate pensions account. Any shortfall in the account will be met by central Government, which will also receive any surplus. The new system will protect police forces' operational capability by ensuring that any future rise in the cost of pensions as a result of increased numbers of pensioners will not be paid for at the expense of policing.

Police

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to review the practice of police officers conferring before writing up their versions of an incident.

Hazel Blears: I understand from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that they and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have agreed the need for a joint review of the post incident procedures in relation to firearms incidents. The terms of reference for the review will be agreed shortly and will take account of both the IPCC and police experience of these investigations.

Police

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent (a) the Metropolitan police and (b) other police forces are funded for the policing of major (i) commercial and (ii) non-commercial events; what Government funding for these purposes was identifiable for each force in the last year for which figures are available; and what the Government's policy is on achieving equity in the provision of policing between the Metropolitan and other force areas.

Hazel Blears: The Government allocate general grant to each police authority based on their relative needs and resources, damped to avoid excessive variation between years. Within the grant formulae, provision is made for a special payment to the Metropolitan police in recognition of its national and capital city functions.
	Police authorities and Chief Officers are expected to manage the policing of special events within the resources available to them and to make reserve provision as necessary. Police authorities have powers under the Police Act 1996 to charge for special police services. Where charging is inappropriate and policing requires an extraordinary level of expenditure for which the Authority cannot reasonably provide, the Home Secretary may consider a request for special grant.
	Special grants of £39.2 million have been made so far in 2005–06 and are set out in the table.
	
		
			  Force  Major incidents Amount (£ million) 
		
		
			 Lincolnshire Operation Barrage fraud investigation 0.4 
			 Hampshire Trafalgar 200 0.5 
			 Lancashire Conservative Party Conference 2005 1.4 
			 Sussex Labour Party Conference 2005 3. 6 
			 Staffordshire Darley Oaks animal rights protest 0.3 
			 Nottinghamshire Extensive murder investigations 1.0 
			 Thames Valley Oxford University animal rights protest 2.0 
			 Metropolitan Policing following London bombings  July 2005 30

Prisoners

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many televisions have been purchased by the Prison Service for the use of offenders in each of the last eight years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The following table details the number of television sets purchased by the Prison Service in the last three years following the introduction of a central contract and includes all those purchased for use in cells. The data does not include sets purchased outside the contract or those purchased from the contractor for use in other parts of the Prison Service estate. The cost of in-cell television sets is recovered from prisoners who are on the enhanced incentive and privileges scheme. There is therefore no cost to the public purse.
	
		Table showing the number of in-cell television sets purchased by HM Prison Service between 2003–04 and 2005–06
		
			 Financial year Number of televisions 
		
		
			 2003–04 1,471 
			 2004–05 15,753 
			 2005–06 9,155

Prisoners

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) full-time and (b) full-time equivalent literacy and numeracy teachers were employed by the prison service in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: I refer my colleague to the response given to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Duncan), on 26 January 2006, Official Report, column 2364W.

Prisoners

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) minors and (b) adults normally resident in Peterborough are serving custodial sentences.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information is not recorded centrally on the home address of prisoners in England and Wales. Information is, however, held on the court that a prisoner is committed to or sentenced at.
	On 30 November 2005 there were 750 sentenced prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales who were sentenced at courts in Cambridgeshire, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system. 730 of these were adults or young adults (i.e. aged 18 and above) and 20 were juveniles (i.e. aged less than 18).

Prisoners

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money is being held in trust for prisoners.

Fiona Mactaggart: At 31 January 2006, a total of £8,865,202 was held by the Prison Service on behalf of prisoners.

Prisons

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many ex-prisoners from HMP Wandsworth are participating in resettlement projects.

Fiona Mactaggart: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the arrangements for prisoners being released before completing their sentence; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The arrangements for the early release of prisoners are kept under constant review. At the present time there are no plans to amend to existing arrangements.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have been released from prison in each region (a) in total and (b) on the basis of a paper dossier prepared by the Probation Service in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: In the year ending 31 December 2004, 85,700 prisoners were released from prisons in England and Wales.
	Prisoners serving a determinate sentence of four years or over who are due to be released under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 can apply for parole at the halfway point of sentence and prisoners serving a life sentence and who have served their tariff may apply for early release. In all such cases, reports are prepared by the probation service, for consideration by the Parole Board. In the year ending 31 March 2005, 3,997 prisoners on whom the probation service had prepared reports were released.
	This information is not readily available on a regional basis and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
	The probation service also provide reports on the home circumstances of offenders being assessed for release on home detention curfew, of whom there were 19,314 in the period 1 January-31 December 2004.

Prisons

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on introducing healthy eating into prison tuckshops as (a) an incentive and (b) a punishment.

Fiona Mactaggart: Access to the prison shop is an incentive. The role of the prison shop is to provide additional facilities for prisoners with which they voluntarily spend their earnings and/or private cash. Contractors have recently begun to respond to requests for low salt and sugar items. These will begin to be made available to prisoners by June 2006.

Prisons

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners underwent treatment for drugs dependence in (a) West Lancashire constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) England and Wales in each of the past five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Figures for prisoners undergoing drug treatment are given in the following table.
	There are no recorded figures prior to 2001–02. Figures for programme completion were not collected prior to 2004–05. There are no prisons in the West Lancashire constituency.
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Lancashire(29) 
			 CARATs 1,599 1,664 1,777 2,241 
			 Detox 1,451 1,489 1,560 1,028 
			 Programmes 
			 Entrants 270 181 181 326 
			 Completions — — — 172 
			 England and Wales 
			 CARATs 39,338 51,896 54,125 59,025 
			 Detox 41,765 50,701 57,891 53,903 
			 Programmes 
			 Entrants 4,691 4,386 4,703 7,621 
			 Completions — — — 4,902 
		
	
	(29) HMP Garth, HMP Kirkham, HMP Lancaster Castle, HMP Lancaster Farms, HMP Preston, HMP Wymott

Prisons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given to prisons on the purchase of halal meat.

Fiona Mactaggart: The purchase of all meat and poultry products is from nationally contracted-suppliers and all halal meat and poultry products are certified as such. Comprehensive and robust specifications are in place together with stringent policy and practice. Certificates are reissued when the supply chain is revised. A multi-disciplinary team has been established to address issues of provenance. The team includes Muslim leaders, representatives from the Halal Food Authority, the Prison Service Muslim Advisor and representatives from Prison Service Contracts and Procurement Unit, and Prison Catering Services.

Prisons

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money the Prison Service receives each year as a result of charges imposed on prisoners' phone calls.

Charles Clarke: The Prison Service receives a commission on each £1 pinphone credit purchased by prisoners. The value of this commission is commercial in confidence to the Prison Service and is not disclosable under the exemption set out in section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on commercial interests.

Prisons

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions members of the Pagan Federation have been granted chaplaincy visits in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; and what safeguards are in place to ensure that no practice detrimental to wellbeing or public decency is permitted.

Fiona Mactaggart: Visits by chaplains of all faith traditions are arranged locally by prison establishments, and information is not recorded to show the number of visits made. Prisoners are free to practise their religion within the constraints of good order and discipline. The Prison Service Order on Religion (4550) provides instructions and guidance to prisons, and includes specific information on the practice of paganism. A copy is in the House Library.

Private Finance Initiative

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2005, Official Report, column 1672W, on Private Finance Initiative, 
	(1)  what the total value is of assets and liabilities for each of the listed private finance initiatives and public private partnerships that are recorded on the Government Balance Sheet;
	(2)  what proportion of assets and liabilities for each of the listed private finance initiatives and public private partnerships is recorded on the Government Balance Sheet.

Charles Clarke: pursuant to the reply, 30 June 2005, Official Report, c. 1672W
	On Private Finance Initiative, the table lists the total value of assets and liabilities for each of the listed private initiatives and public private partnerships that are recorded on" the Government Balance Sheet. The audited figures appear in the Home Office 2004–05 Resource Accounts.
	
		£ million
		
			 Commissioning body/project name Assets Liabilities 
		
		
			 Youth Justice Board/STC Cookham Wood (Medway) 21.1 4.9 
			 Youth Justice Board/STC Hassockfield 10.8 5.9 
			 Youth Justice Board/STC Rainsbrook (Onley) Expansion 16.7 5.0 
			 Youth Justice Board/STC Oakhill Expansion 23.0 22.7 
			 STC HMP and YOI Ashfield/HMPS (Pucklechurch) 26.7 21.4 
			 Prison Service/HMP Altcourse 68.3 59.3 
			 Prison Service/HMP Ashford 53.0 46.6 
			 Prison Service/HMP Dovegate 62.3 56.4 
			 Prison Service/HMP Forest Bank 45.9 41.2 
			 Prison Service/HMP Lowdham Grange 25.6 19.6 
			 Prison Service/HMP Pare 46.9 32.2 
			 Prison Service/HMP Peterborough 70.0 64.4 
			 Prison Service/HMP Rye Hill 39.5 34.5 
		
	
	The balance sheet treatment of PFI/PPPs are determined by an independent auditor following United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, in accordance with Financial Reporting Standards issued by the independent Accounting Standards Board (ASB).

Probation Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances a violent offender would be released from prison without (a) consultation with the police and (b) supervision; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The police are routinely informed, approximately 28 days ahead, of the release of all prisoners.
	The police are partners in Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), which are statutory arrangements, operated by criminal justice and social care agencies to manage serious sexual and violent offenders and protect the public. The police are therefore consulted on the management of violent offenders who pose a high risk of serious harm, generally those serving a sentence of 12 months and over.
	All fixed-term prisoners, regardless of their offence, serving 12 months or more, all fixed-term prisoners aged under 22 years at the point of release and all prisoners serving a life or equivalent sentence must undergo statutory supervision upon release. The only exception is the very small number of prisoners released at the end of their custodial term under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1967.

Probation Service

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the (a) Probation and (b) Prison Service in Wales will be managed to establish an environment capable of delivering offender management and the Wales Reducing Re-offending Action Plan.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Director of Offender Management Service Wales has responsibility for supporting both the delivery of Offender Management in Wales and implementing 'Joining Together in Wales: an Adult and Young People's Strategy to Reduce Re-offending'. There has already been full involvement of the probation and prison services in developing these area within the Welsh context. The National Offender Management Service in Wales will continue to develop close working links with both services and other key partners to ensure their successful implementation.
	Table B shows the number of children prosecuted and sentenced to immediate custody. For the purposes of this response the total number prosecuted consists of those dealt with at court, being cautioned or receiving other penalties (which includes informal warnings).
	
		Table B: Number of children aged 10 to 17 prosecuted and sentenced to immediate custody for drug offences in England and Wales, 2000 to 2004
		
			  Prosecuted Sentenced to immediate custody 
			  All drug offences Class A drug offences All drug offices Class A drug offences 
		
		
			 2000 7,470 262 73 5 
			 2001 8,950 374 93 50 
			 2002 9,730 323 57 31 
			 2003 10,090 305 85 49 
			 2004 9,390 371 80 50 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data relates to children aged between 10 and 17 years old.
	2. Prosecutions data refers to number dealt with at court, cautioned or receiving other penalties.

Protective Police Custody

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions individuals have been taken into protective police custody in each of the last five years.

Charles Clarke: This information is not held centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Public Order

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices for being drunk and disorderly were issued in Swindon between (a) 12 November 2004 and 24 December 2004 and (b) 12 November 2005 to 24 December 2005.

Hazel Blears: It is not possible to identify the number of penalty notices for disorder issued in Swindon because centrally available data is not broken down to that level of detail.

Public Order

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unauthorised demonstrations have taken place in Parliament Square since the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 came into effect.

Paul Goggins: The Metropolitan Police have informed me that, since 1 August 2005, there have been 10 occasions in Parliament Square and Whitehall where protests have continued after the police advised protesters that their demonstrations were unauthorised.

Public Order

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 in preventing unauthorised demonstrations in Parliament Square; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Since the provisions of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 came into force the vast majority of demonstrations around Parliament Square have been authorised. The Metropolitan police tell me that there were 118 authorised demonstrations in Parliament Square and Whitehall from 1 August 2005 to 31 January 2006. There were 10 unauthorised demonstrations in the same area where the police took further action.

Public Order

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) the North East and (e) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available centrally.

Public Protection Arrangements

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people are covered by multi-agency public protection arrangements for level (a) one, (b) two and (c) three, broken down by probation area;
	(2)  how many individuals were covered by multi-agency public protection arrangements under each of the three levels on the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by probation area.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Responsible Authority for the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) comprises the chief officers of police, probation and the prison service in each area of England and Wales. It is required under statute to publish an annual report describing the operation of these arrangements locally and as part of this to publish data as to the number of offenders considered under the arrangements. The latest data available is from the annual reports for 2004–05 and has been published by areas. It is also available through the National Probation Service website: http://www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk/output/page4.asp
	The following table shows a breakdown of the number of offenders considered under the three levels of risk management within MAPPA for each area.
	
		Number of people managed by MAPPA at Level 1, 2 and 3
		
			 Area MAPPA Level 3 MAPPA Level 2 MAPPA Level 1 Total 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 7 378 751 1,136 
			 Bedfordshire 10 55 352 417 
			 Cambridgeshire 3 95 460 558 
			 Cheshire 17 362 634 1,013 
			 County Durham 10 43 434 487 
			 Cumbria 1 60 311 372 
			 Derbyshire 38 105 569 712 
			 Devon and Cornwall 45 372 609 1,026 
			 Dorset 44 91 266 401 
			 Dyfed Powys 14 213 222 449 
			 Essex 6 88 810 904 
			 Gloucestershire 19 76 299 394 
			 Gwent 10 145 406 561 
			 Hampshire 64 391 1,158 1,613 
			 Hertfordshire 112 583 113 808 
			 Humberside 27 158 839 1,024 
			 Kent 39 459 918 1,416 
			 Lancashire 18 184 1,150 1,352 
			 Leicestershire 42 184 711 937 
			 Lincolnshire 25 50 510 585 
			 London 39 2,127 2,364 4,530 
			 Greater Manchester 142 157 3,470 3,769 
			 Merseyside 65 59 1,505 1,629 
			 Norfolk 14 79 541 634 
			 North Wales 14 317 282 613 
			 North Yorkshire 18 91 398 507 
			 Northamptonshire 29 40 415 484 
			 Northumbria 38 228 940 1,206 
			 Nottinghamshire 28 163 863 1,054 
			 South Wales 51 575 699 1,325 
			 South Yorkshire 114 85 1,044 1,243 
			 Staffordshire 43 298 381 722 
			 Suffolk 7 66 407 480 
			 Surrey 21 356 67 444 
			 Sussex 22 325 669 1,016 
			 Teesside 15 84 499 598 
			 Thames Valley 60 505 817 1,382 
			 Warwickshire 5 87 274 366 
			 West Mercia 81 103 850 1,034 
			 West Midlands 46 664 1,985 2,695 
			 West Yorkshire 69 698 1,424 2,191 
			 Wiltshire 6 89 410 505 
			 Total 1,478 11,288 31,826 44,592

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to issue a consultation document on guidance for the police on the provisions contained in the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill.

Paul Goggins: We intend to begin discussions with stakeholders on the Home Office guidance to accompany the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 in the near future.

Respect Action Plan

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much each local authority will receive to offer support to parents under the Respect action plan.

Hazel Blears: Parenting is a core element of the Respect programme and is essential for creating a strong society based on mutual respect. Over the next two years we will invest an additional £52 million to start a national programme of change in the way that public services respond to parents.
	Nationally all local authorities will receive funding through the roll-out of children's centres and extended schools—a key aim within this being to improve parenting provision. The Respect programme will also include investment in early intervention measures to support vulnerable children and young people and their families, including pathfinders which develop leading practice in supporting parents.
	A further £28 million of new funding will be used to set up a national network of intensive family support programmes. Intensive family support projects will be available in areas where they are needed. They will provide intensive parenting support to the most problematic families that are targeted by the projects.
	To support parenting professionals a National Parenting Academy will be established to ensure that they have the necessary skills to delivery high quality parenting support.
	Further announcements on these projects will be made shortly.

Respect Action Plan

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the reduction in non-car/race-related criminal damage offences cited in the Respect Action Plan is statistically significant.

Charles Clarke: The non-car/non-race related data in the Respect Action Plan is based on recorded crime statistics. Recorded crime statistics use administrative data rather than sampling data, therefore statistical significance tests are not appropriate.

Secure Training Centres

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which department or agency is responsible for conducting security checks on staff employed at secure training centres.

Fiona Mactaggart: All staff employed in secure training centres are subject to a security check conducted by the Criminal Records Bureau. Because of the nature of the work, the check is in the form of an enhanced disclosure.

Secure Training Centres

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which department or agency is responsible for drawing up guidelines for the use of restraint of young people in secure training centres.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Physical Control in Care Training Manual was compiled by the Prison Service College. The restraint techniques set out in the manual for use, where necessary, in secure training centres are approved by the Home Secretary.

Sex Offenders

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were on the sex offenders register on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of those are on the register for life.

Paul Goggins: Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 requires all offenders who have received a conviction or caution for certain sexual offences to notify personal information to the police and, subsequently, to keep the police informed of: any changes to those details; any period of seven days spent at another address, and any intention to travel overseas for three days or more. The period of time that an offender must comply with these requirements (the notification period") is calculated by reference to whether the offender received a caution or conviction for the offence and, if the latter, the disposal received. For example, any offender who receives 30 months or more imprisonment in respect of a relevant offence will become subject to the notification requirements for an indefinite period"; i.e. the rest of his life.
	The Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) annual reports include statistics on the number of offenders who are subject to the notification requirements. The 2004–05 reports state that on 31 March 2005 there were 28,994 registered sex offenders living in the community. Statistics are not held centrally for the number of such offenders who are required to comply with the notification requirements indefinitely.

Sex Offenders

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are on the Sex Offenders Register; and how many of those are on for life.

Paul Goggins: Part two of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 requires all offenders who have received a conviction or caution for certain sexual offences to notify personal information to the police and, subsequently, to keep the police informed of: any changes to those details; any period of seven days spent at another address; and any intention to travel overseas for three days or more. The period of time that an offender must comply with these requirements (the notification period") is calculated by reference to whether the offender received a caution or conviction for the offence and, if the latter, the disposal received. For example, any offender who receives 30 months or more imprisonment in respect of a relevant offence will become subject to the notification requirements for an indefinite period", i.e. the rest of his life.
	The Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) annual reports include statistics on the number of offenders who are subject to the notification requirements. The 2004–05 reports state that on 31 March 2005 there were 28,994 registered sex offenders living in the community. Statistics are not held centrally for the number of such offenders who are required to comply with the notification requirements indefinitely.

Slave Trade Abolition

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department's working party on the commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade last met; and what conclusions it reached.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office Advisory Group on Slavery was established to assist with the development of the Government's plans to mark 2004 as the UN year to commemorate the struggle against slavery and its abolition. It last met in October 2004. The group also began a discussion about how most usefully to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British empire in 2007.
	Work on the arrangements for the bicentenary are being taken forward by an Advisory Group, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, which had its first meeting on 19 January this year.

Special Constables

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables have been recruited in (a) the Trent Valley division, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England and Wales since the beginning of the scheme.

Hazel Blears: Home Office specific grants to forces under the Special Constabulary Capacity Building Scheme began in January 2004. In the year 1 April 2004–31 March 2005, 102 special constables were recruited by Staffordshire constabulary, with 3,636 special constables recruited in England and Wales.
	Figures for the Trent Valley division are not collected centrally.

Special Constables

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average number of hours per week was worked by a special constable in (a) the Trent Valley Division, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England and Wales in each year since the beginning of the scheme.

Hazel Blears: Special constables are volunteers and the hours individual specials work varies. Data on hours worked by special constables is collected by police force area; figures are not collected centrally for Trent Valley Division. Available information on the average number of special constable hours per week are given in the following table.
	Forces not providing data are Avon and Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Derbyshire, Durham, Greater Manchester, Humberside, Lancashire, Merseyside, Metropolitan Police, North Wales, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands.
	Because of a force data revision, the average figure for the 24 forces differs from that given in the answer to my hon. Friend on 22 February 2006, Official Report, column 102W.
	
		Hours
		
			  2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Staffordshire 1,496 1,627 
			 24 forces providing data 18,074 19,877

Special Constables

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding his Department has allocated to the special constables scheme in each year it has been running in (a) the Trent Valley Division, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England and Wales.

Hazel Blears: Funding is being made available to forces to help them develop their capacity to recruit, retain and manage their special constables. Grant payments are awarded at force, rather than basic command unit, level and details of the first two years of the funding scheme are shown as follows. Allocations for 2006–07 are currently being considered.
	
		£
		
			  Staffordshire England and Wales 
		
		
			 2004 39,817 2,044,054 
			 2005 29,757 2,473,009

Suicide Bombers

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he has given (a) police officers and (b) the general public on identifying potential suicide bombers; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Operational policing guidance is a matter for the relevant chief constable. As for the general public, the message in awareness campaigns is to be alert to and report any suspicious behaviour or activity to the police or other relevant authority.

Supervision Orders

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were the subject of supervision orders under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and previous legislation in each of the four designated tiers on the latest date for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: At the end of September 2005, there were some 134,200 people being supervised by the Probation Service under court orders. This includes those sentenced to orders under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and previous legislation.
	Guidance about taking decisions was only issued in July 2005 and information on the numbers of orders falling within each supervision tier is not currently reliable.

Supervision Orders

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been the subject of supervision orders under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and previous legislation in each of the four designated tiers; and what estimate he has made of how many additional trained probation officers will be needed to ensure that standards set are met over the next five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: At the end of September 2005 there were some 134,200 offenders being supervised by the Probation Service under court orders. This included those sentenced under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and those sentenced under the previous legislation. We do not as yet have reliable national figures for the number of offenders supervised at each of the four offender management tiers.
	The number of probation staff expressed as full time equivalents increased from 13,968 in 1997 to 20,138 at the end of September 2005. This is a very significant increase. To meet the resource needs of the Probation Service under the new sentencing framework of the 2003 Act, most of the provisions of which were implemented in April 2005, Probation Officer numbers rose from 6,376 in September 2004 to 6,529 by September 2005 and are projected to rise again to 7,244 by September 2007. By this time the new custodial sentence of Custody Plus will be in operation, completing implementation of the new sentences. Current Probation Officer projections go as far as September 2009 and a figure of 7,344 by that date. Numbers of the more junior practitioner grade of Probation Service Officer are also increasing significantly.

Tail Docking

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for illegal tail docking of dogs in each of the last five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to identify offences involving the docking of dogs' tails on the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Terrorists (Detention)

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the police forces which made individual recommendations to his Department on the extension of the maximum pre-charge detention period for suspected terrorists.

Hazel Blears: The content of the Terrorism Bill was discussed with the Metropolitan police, which has lead responsibility for terrorism matters, and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which speaks on behalf of all police forces in England and Wales.

Under-age Drinking

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase the penalty for shopkeepers who sell alcohol to young people who are underage.

Hazel Blears: The Licensing Act 2003 increased the maximum penalty for selling alcohol to persons aged under18 from a level three fine (maximum £1,000) to a level five fine (maximum £5,000) with effect from 24 November 2005.
	This offence is also included in the penalty notice for disorder scheme which enables the police to issue fixed penalty notices for specified offences subject to a penalty of either £50 or £80. Sale of alcohol to underage persons was added to the scheme with effect from 1 November 2004 and made liable to the higher tier penalty of £80. The Respect Action Plan, launched on 10 January this year, announced that this level of penalty is to be raised to £100 later this year.

Violent Crime

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) murders, (b) manslaughters, (c) attempted murders, (d) rapes, (e) burglaries and (f) other acts of violence against the person there have been in each constituency in England and Wales since 2001 that have been solved using records of DNA samples taken from suspects who had previously been arrested but not convicted of an offence.

Hazel Blears: Information on the number of serous crimes such as murder, manslaughter and rape that have been detected using DNA profiles taken from suspects who had previously been arrested, charged but not convicted of an offence is not collected by the Home Office as detections are achieved through integrated criminal investigation and not by forensic science alone. Information is available on the number of DNA profiles taken from suspects that have provided the police with an intelligence link that has been used to identify the possible offender and assist in criminal investigations.
	Since the amendment to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 in May 2001, which enabled the police to retain DNA samples taken from persons who have not been convicted of an offence, about 200,000 DNA samples have been retained that would previously have had to be destroyed. From these, approximately 8,493 profiles of individuals have been linked with crime scene stains, involving 13,964 offences. These offences include 114 murders, 55 attempted murders, 116 rapes, 68 sexual offences, 119 aggravated burglaries and 127 of the supply of controlled drugs.
	This information is not available by parliamentary constituency; nor for other crime types such as burglaries and other acts of violence against the person.

Violent Crime

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on violent crime in Greater Manchester; and what steps he has taken to address the problem.

Hazel Blears: The Government are currently taking forward a very full range of work which will continue to reduce violent crime.
	Within Greater Manchester, Manchester, Bolton and Salford are involved in the Tackling Violent Crime Programme (TVCP) which works intensively with practitioners in a number of local areas, particularly tackling alcohol-related crime and domestic violence, with a view to identifying, developing, disseminating and embedding good practice.
	As part of the TVCP and the associated Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC) Manchester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership has undertaken a number of initiatives aimed at reducing alcohol related violent crime. High profile police patrols were conducted in hotspot areas such as the city centre to coincide with the changes in the licensing laws. Greater Manchester police are currently placing emphasis on early intervention of low level disorder, in particular through issuing fixed penalty notices, with a view to preventing disorder escalating. Multi-agency visits to licensed premises, test purchases and the nationally recognised Best Bar None scheme have also successfully been undertaken to reduce underage sales of alcohol, breaches of licence conditions and alcohol related violent crime.
	The action plan developed to tackle problems with alcohol in Heywood in Rochdale over 100 days began on 2 February 2006 and is an example of the multi-agency partnership approach to tackling crime and disorder.

Voluntary Sector Regulation

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Kettering from the Minister for the Cabinet Office, of 7 November 2005, Official Report, column 535W, when he will respond to the Better Regulation Task Force report on regulating the voluntary sector.

Paul Goggins: The Government welcomes the Better Regulation Task Force report Better Regulation for Civil Society", recognises its potential for bringing genuine benefits to voluntary and community organisations, and will respond shortly.

Women Police Constables

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which police forces in England and Wales refer to women police constables as WPCs;
	(2)  what criteria are used in deciding whether women police constables are called WPCs or PCs; who makes the decision; what changes there have been in policy on the issue in the last five years; whether it is normal practice to consult affected personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is as follows:
	(1) The title WPC" is not used in any police force in England and Wales.
	(2) Police forces in England and Wales do not differentiate between male and female officers when using rank or role identification. Although there is no explicit policy on the use of the term WPC", police forces increasingly discontinued its use over a number of years. The British Association for Women in Policing and Police Federation have been influential in highlighting barriers facing women in the service and seeking to remove these. The removal of unnecessary gender labels supports deployment based on skills and experience rather than gender.
	All police roles are open to both women and men. Gender is relevant when it comes to searching individuals; otherwise, it is an officer's skill, ability, knowledge and experience which are relevant.

Young Offenders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) the capacity and (b) the population is of each young offender institution.

Charles Clarke: The information requested, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system, is provided in the following table.
	
		Capacity and actual population of young offender institutions as at 30 June 2005
		
			 Establishment In use certified normal accommodation Operational capacity Total population Young persons Adults 
		
		
			 Altcourse 614 903 898 91 807 
			 Ashfield 400 360 310 310 — 
			 Askham Grange 129 131 87 8 79 
			 Aylesbury 432 438 425 425 — 
			 Belmarsh 799 917 896 19 877 
			 Birmingham 1,121 1,402 1,418 4 1,414 
			 Blakenhurst 821 1,060 1,055 1 1,054 
			 Brinsford 477 493 444 444 — 
			 Bristol 426 606 595 33 562 
			 Brixton 606 798 805 2 803 
			 Brockhill 145 148 126 9 117 
			 Bronzefield 451 451 421 23 398 
			 Bullingdon 759 963 964 1 963 
			 Bullwood Hall 167 171 146 114 32 
			 Castington 400 410 352 352 — 
			 Chelmsford 437 575 574 128 446 
			 Cookham Wood 120 168 164 6 158 
			 Deerbolt 513 518 434 434 — 
			 Doncaster 771 1,120 1,039 282 757 
			 Dorchester 147 260 241 27 214 
			 Dover 314 314 287 43 244 
			 Downview 251 251 238 14 224 
			 Drake Hall 315 315 274 15 259 
			 East Sutton Park 94 100 96 2 94 
			 Eastwood Park 310 346 278 46 232 
			 Elmley 753 985 982 58 924 
			 Exeter 316 533 522 74 448 
			 Feltham 761 761 608 608 — 
			 Forest Bank 800 1,040 1,035 132 903 
			 Foston Hall 223 223 221 1 220 
			 Glen Parva 668 808 785 785 — 
			 Gloucester 214 313 281 20 261 
			 Guys Marsh 519 570 558 69 489 
			 Haslar 160 160 107 10 97 
			 Highdown 627 736 742 68 674 
			 Hindley 455 455 403 403 — 
			 Hollesley Bay 330 330 293 19 274 
			 Holloway 483 485 430 69 361 
			 Holme House 857 994 967 4 963 
			 Hull 812 1,071 1,032 115 917 
			 Huntercombe 360 368 340 340 — 
			 Lancaster Farms 480 527 521 521 — 
			 Lewes 458 545 527 38 489 
			 Liverpool 1,163 1,438 1,363 2 1,361 
			 Low Newton 343 396 282 63 219 
			 Manchester 954 1,269 1,227 5 1,222 
			 Moorland Open 260 260 238 61 177 
			 Moorland 740 779 746 355 391 
			 New Hall 367 426 278 78 200 
			 Northallerton 127 209 196 196 — 
			 Norwich 591 823 781 177 604 
			 Nottingham 385 510 505 2 503 
			 Onley 520 520 505 170 335 
			 Parc 839 1,036 961 392 569 
			 Parkhurst 459 507 511 3 508 
			 Peterborough 565 534 534 32 502 
			 Portland 382 388 392 392 — 
			 Reading 190 297 291 291 — 
			 Rochester 392 392 391 391 — 
			 Stoke Heath 574 690 624 624 — 
			 Styal 405 455 385 40 345 
			 Swinfen Hall 600 600 581 343 238 
			 Thorn Cross 316 316 234 234 — 
			 Wandsworth 966 1,416 1,433 3 1,430 
			 Warren Hill 222 222 211 211 — 
			 Werrington 146 148 134 134 — 
			 Wetherby 360 360 342 342 — 
			 Woodhill 650 762 759 89 670 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,167 1,239 1,239 3 1,236 
		
	
	Note:
	The table does not include establishments that hold adults only; where the site is split between young persons and adults, the capacity of the whole establishment is shown and remand, sentenced, young adults, juveniles, males and females are included.

Young Offenders

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the levels of re-offending by young offenders were in each year between 2001–02 and 2005–06.

Fiona Mactaggart: The most recent data on re-offending are published in 'Juvenile reconviction: results from the 2003 cohort, RDS OLR 08/05'. The report, which covers 2001 to 2003, is available on-line at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/onlinepubs1.html.

Youth Justice Board

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding the Youth Justice Board received in 2004–05 for the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme for young offenders.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Youth Justice Board received £29.6 million to fund the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme for 2004–05.